10 Horror Movies Nobody Understands

A brutal, nihilistic commentary on the cannibalistic nature of beauty in the various beauty industries, Nicolas Winding Refn’s psychological horror is as aloof and callous as most of his other movies - or, indeed, as the man himself.

Following Jesse, a sixteen-year-old aspiring model who is feted, then absorbed by the fashion industry and, ultimately, literally devoured by her jealous older friends, The Neon Demon could have left it there: as a cold, grim critique of a world obsessed with beauty in much the same way as vampires are obsessed with blood.

Yet Refn builds so much occult, talismanic imagery into the movie's production design and its narrative that it's difficult to see it as just an odd, repellent allegory. The three older women who befriend, murder and eat Jesse are a coven in every metaphorical sense: the question is whether they are a coven in a literal sense as well.

The ritualistic references in The Neon Demon are endless. Jesse is both a symbolic talisman and potentially a genuine one for the older women that surround her. Refn acknowledges the symbolism, but as a born provocateur you can’t necessarily trust a word he says in public.

Are they witches? Do they literally observe a teenager pull down the moon and then take her power for themselves? Or is it simply another imagery-laden exercise in provocation from a man who delights in getting a reaction? It’s impossible to tell.