Now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD is the “trippy” film Neon Demon. I use the word trippy because I don’t know how to classy this rather interesting film. Horror? Drama? Suspense? It’s hard to say. I think it’s a little bit of everything.
Neon Demon stars Elle Flanning, Jena Malone, Keanu Reeves and Christina Hendricks, to name a few.
When aspiring model Jesse moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will use any means necessary to get what she has.
Flanning stars as Jesse, a young (16 years old) country girl who comes to L.A. dreaming of being a super model. Her innocence is apparent, after all, she’s only a child (she was told to tell people she was 19 if asked).
Another thing is apparent about Jesse – she’s incredibly beautiful. She has a natural beauty that other models she meets are very jealous of.
I would assume that most of the “behind the scenes” things that goes on with models (as depicted in the film) is grossly inflated. I know that there can be a lot of backstabbing and sleeping around, but this film makes the world of modeling to be very dark and evil.
It’s hard to figure Jesse out at times. You can see that she is sweet, naive and innocent at times – but there are other times where you get a sense that there is something deep and dark about her too. It’s like her character straddles the line between good and evil.
There are scenes in this film that are just odd. They don’t seem to make sense. It’s as if Jesse is tripping on some kind of drugs.
The film is a lot more explicit than I thought it would be. I didn’t anticipate all the sexual situations. I wouldn’t expect Elle Flanning to be in a film that had so many sexual situations. I see her as her character on film – sweet and innocent.
There is also a lot of blood in this film. Just like the sexual situations, I didn’t anticipate the bloody scenes either. This film is nothing like I expected it to be.
I guess in a way this film is a lot like a crazy dream. It’s hard to tell what is reality and what is made up in Jesse’s mind.
Check out the trailer (below).
What do you think? Crazy movie? Now do you see why I say it’s “trippy?”
This is the kind of film you might have to watch twice to see if it makes more sense the second time around. I plan on watching it again.
This is NOT a family friendly film – not by a long shot. It’s rated R, and for a very good reason. It also has a run time of about 117 minutes.
I’m still on the fence about this film. It’s dark, disturbing, hypnotic, confusing, visually stunning at times, interesting, unique… It’s a little bit of everything rolled up into one.
I guess you just have to see the movie for yourself to decide what you think about it.
There are some bonus features on the Blu-ray including commentary (I am not a fan of commentary), Behind the Soundtrack (the film does have a really good soundtrack) and an extended trailer for the film with some brief interviews mixed in.
If you saw the film I would LOVE to hear your thoughts about it. Please feel free to leave a comment and share your mini-review of the movie for me.
Look for Neon Demon where ever movie are sold.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.