HER PRIVATE HELL

(director/writer: Nicolas Winding Refn; screenwriter: Esti Giordiani, story by Refn; cinematographer: Magnus Nordenhof Jonk; editor: Matthew Newman; music: Pino Donaggio; cast: Dougray Scott (father, Johnny Thunders), Havana Rose Lin (Dominque), Sophie Thatcher (Elle), Charles Melton (Private K), Shioli Kutsuna (Ms. T), Kristine Froseth (Hunter), Diego Calva (Nico), Hidetoshi Nishijima (Hayashi), Aoi Yamada (Mrs. S), Parker Sawyers (Terry); Runtime: 109; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Nicolas Winding Refn; Neon; 2026-USA/UK/Denmark-in English & Japanese)

“What transpires is a mood piece that defies interpretation.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
 
Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (“Drive”/”The Neon Demon”) after a serious health scare and an absence from films for the last ten years, returns to helm this strange, surreal, arthouse, horror-thriller, midnight movie based on a story he wrote. He co-wrote it with Esti Giordiani.


The famous young actress Elle (Sophie Thatcher) is at a hotel in the misty, hellish, futuristic Tokyo to make the schlocky movie “Candy Floss.” She meets a woman named Hunter (Kristine Froseth) whom she despises, and has a tense encounter with her co-star and same aged stepmother, Dominique (Havana Rose Liu), who is having an affair with the clubowner Nico (Diego Calva) while married to Elle’s father, Johnny Thunders (Dougray Scott). Also there is Private K (Charles Melton), an American soldier searching for his kidnapped daughter. 

What transpires is a mood piece that defies interpretation or logic. It’s a B-film that maybe only the filmmaker fully understands. But I found its weirdness, its spine-tingling visuals and its elusive story about Elle’s father issues to my liking, even though I’m hard-pressed to tell you exactly why and even though its zombie pace made it an unpleasant watch. I almost forgot, there’s also a man attired in leather roaming the streets of Tokyo looking to harm someone.

It played at the Cannes Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 7/25/2026  GRADE: B-
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