I’ve been waiting to watch this one for a long, long time.

Anyway, The Neon Demon, released in 2016, is Nicolas Winding Refn’s psychological horror movie that isn’t really a horror film. What do I mean? Well the movie uses the genre as more of a vehicle rather than a destination, and that’s one of the many aspects that I cherish about this film. At the time of its release, much like Refn’s Only God Forgives, it received both boos and a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival before earning a nearly split 58% on Rotten Tomatoes. I have to say that this is one of the most underrated movies ever.

The film is generally about an aspiring model named Jesse (Elle Fanning) who travels to LA to get what she desires most. However, immediately after arriving, she’s shrouded with love due to her ethereal beauty, much to the distaste of other models. Those other models are Gigi and Sarah, two jealous, narcissistic women so hell bent on being the best in the industry that they’re willing to kill. Jesse must deal with the intense jealousy, requirements of absolute perfection, and her seemingly insane landlord, Hank (Keanu Reeves) with the support of her make-up artist, Ruby (Jenna Malone).

I loved so much in this film, and while it does certainly have a substantial amount of flaws, it’s a nice return to form for a very talented filmmaker. Speaking of Refn, the direction in this movie is absolutely stunning, and he really takes you back to the old days of cinema where you had to make all the magic on your own, without big budgets or flashy special effects. This movie certainly has flash, but in a natural, toned-down way. Disregarding the style, Refn also puts a nice, entertaining pace into it with only certain sequences that felt drawn-on. This is a big improvement over the aforementioned Only God Forgives, which suffered from pacing issues and overbearing pretentiousness. In terms of enjoyment, this is probably his best movie for me. In terms of actual quality, it will always be Drive, his one masterpiece in my perspective. Nonetheless, he is a very intriguing, creative filmmaker with flare to spare and I am excited for what he has in store next.

Similarly to the direction, the cinematography by Natasha Braier is phenomenal, probably my favorite aspect in the entire movie. Like I mentioned, she creates such realism and horror with an extremely low budget. Every shot, every frame and every single second is a feast for the eyes like Refn’s other films, and one of the best-looking movies I’ve ever seen. This is a disturbing, haunting, very uncompromising experience and Braier’s camera-work just accentuates the sequences that ooze off these feelings. The use of color, and Refn’s signature neon-drenched palette once again shines bright (literally). My favorite scene would have to be The Demon Dance, which gave me all the feels. I was disturbed, intrigued, entertained, and totally terrified by the entire sequence. Technically, this is a freaking masterpiece.

Unfortunately, this film also suffers from some issues as well. For one there’s the tone, which is occasionally a bit of a mess. It switches from dark comedy to straight-up psychological horror in seconds and the shifts didn’t work for me. If you take the two prominent elements and isolate them, they’re both brilliant. But together, it ends a massive splat of awesomeness, for better or for worse. Otherwise, there were some characters that I felt were a bit lacking in development. Hank, played decently by Keanu Reeves, isn’t exactly a bad role, but in terms of a deep and fleshed-out supporting character, it’s a failure in the writing. Gigi and Sarah were both acted very well by Abby Lee Kershaw and Bella Heathcote, both of whom gave off incredibly obsessive, creepy vibes, but their characters seemed unfortunately thin. In terms of the acting overall, I generally enjoyed the performances. Elle Fanning is reasonably strong as always, and Jena Malone’s Ruby was probably the best in the whole movie. Acting and character-wise. In terms of small nitpicks, I sometimes found the experience to be pretentious, or acting better than it actually was, but in terms of that, it was an improvement over Only God Forgives.

Overall, this is a very good movie with some incredible moments that could even rival Stanley Kubrick’s direction. As a whole it can feel disjointed and unbalanced, but the generally strong acting, absolutely gorgeous cinematography and inventive direction make it a must-see experience for aspiring filmmakers. Give it a watch, it’s streaming for free on Amazon Prime Video, so what have you got to lose?