There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

As a fan of Nicolas Winding Refn's most "beloved" works (Drive, Bronson) and what many see as his worst (Only God Forgives), I would say that The Neon Demon matches his stunning (colorblind) eye for lighting and cinematography while in some ways tempering his tendency toward visceral brutality, replacing it with disturbing, "maneater" psycho-sexuality. The film follows a young model (Elle Fanning) whose natural beauty stuns the modeling world, quickly turning a makeup artist (Jena Malone) and two beauty-obsessed models (Bella Heathcote, Abbey Lee Kershaw) into obsessive lust and jealousy.As with Only God Forgives before it, the film uses symbolism and unspoken implication to create its allusions, which in this case seem to highlight the illusion of beauty and the obsessive fantasies created to either fake it or make it. However, much of this gets lost in the sparseness of the material and in the symbolism that doesn't immediately connect to the themes Refn is conveying to the viewer. With an underdeveloped narrative, the film has a brooding underbelly that never brings us too far under the surface.Despite a charming Karl Glusman, a sinister Keanu Reeves, an eerie Desmond Harrington and a pretentious Alessandro Nivola in supporting roles, the film is very thin on story and character development undercutting the power its four main female characters could have. With things moving too quickly to their conclusion, the film never truly realizes the promise of its exploration of a beauty-obsessed industry full of Lady Macbeth types. So while it may rejuvenate Refn's standing following Only God Forgives, it doesn't move him far away from the perception of Refn being pretentiously visual while lacking substance or immediacy. This perception was created by Valhalla Rising and Only God Forgives in quite possibly an unfair manner. Nevertheless, there is enough here to satisfy the niche audience of Refn fans who enjoy his violent surrealism. However, there won't be much for audiences outside of that niche to consume... if you excuse the pun.

Nicolas Winding Refn has a way of making you feel inadequate when you watch his films - but in a good way. What I mean by that is that they're extremely complex and layered and even if you have a theory on a particular element of the film there's often no way to know if you're right. But isn't that great? Cinema that make you think is a thing of beauty. Of the three Refn films I have now seen ('Drive' and 'Only God Forgives' being the other two) I'd have to say 'The Neon Demon' is probably my favourite. Not by a wide margin, but it was certainly the one that I had the most fun watching. I honestly had no idea where the story was going to lead. I was trying to predict how it would pan out as the film went along, and to say I was way off would still be an understatement. The last 30 or so minutes of this film were so far out of left field, and yet so captivating, that I suspect I will remember them for a very long time.Even before that though the film had me hooked for the most part. The thing with Refn is that he creates these intricate and fascinating scenes, and yet you have no idea whether any of it is really important to the outcome or not. You hang on to every word though, both because it's interesting and because you know you may reflect on it in a very interesting way later on. Refn is notorious for his love of gore and violence and 'The Neon Demon' is no exception. It doesn't have perhaps the extreme levels that 'Only God Forgives' does (at least not in terms of what is actually shown), yet what is implied is still pretty horrifying. So there's no doubt this film won't be to everyones liking. Even if gore doesn't bother you I could see a lot of people simply not connecting with this film. Refn will always have a very much love/hate opinion held over his films I suspect. I enjoyed this one though a lot more than I even expected it to (it took me a long time to get around to seeing it because I had a feeling I was going to hate it). My advice would be to give it a chance and even if it's not your thing stick around to the end just to see what all the fuss is about.

This movie is the Odyssey 2001 of model movies. Very long unedited shots that do not add anything to the story except time. Many 'visually appealing' lights and backgrounds that again does not add to story. Story itself is extremely slow giving the impression of a high payoff...it never happens. Make matters worse, movie just ends without any explanation of what happened or why. This is not a horror movie at all and barely delivers as a thriller.

Somebody is presumably being killed, and Jesse didn't know who to call, so, she calls someone who can provide absolutely zero help or protection for the person in danger. Too bad Wyclef Jeans "Someone please call 911" wasn't playing somewhere within all these dreams and visions we were subjected to. But, that's the thing with "art" films I guess; logic or reasoning isn't really the primary goal or defining characteristic.This films' payoff is actually pretty amazing, however sadly, it being attached to a body of work about as powerful as an atrophied arm swinging in zero gravity, meant its punch was almost unrecognizable and could've easily been mistaken for a baby fist bump.Also, Elle Fanning isn't nearly as pretty as one would need to be to play the character she's supposed to be portraying. Perhaps this may not mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but given the subject matter, I feel that maybe, it may just mean everything.The Photography is quite stunning, the performances were on and off like flickering neon lights, and the character development and handling was depicted well enough for almost all except the lead while the script had some moments of merit. The Neon Demon had some beams of light, without much shine. 5/10.