When Private Hells go Public (CREDIT: NEON)
Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Shioli Kutsuna, Aoi Yamada, Dougray Scott, Diego Calva, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Parker Sawyers
Director: Nicholas Winding Refn
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Rating: R for Stylized But Certainly Bloody Violence, and Some Sexual Content and Language Under a Similarly Stylized Veneer
Release Date: July 24, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: A veteran actress named Elle (Sophie Thatcher) meets an up-and-comer named Hunter (Kristine Froseth) who is set to co-star with her in an upcoming production. Hunter is eager to soak up everything Elle has to teach her, and she’s also enamored with Elle’s famous dad Johnny Thunders (Dougray Scott), who’s back in town with his new wife Dominique (Havana Rose Liu), who’s about the same age as Elle. They’re all staying in a luxury hotel in Tokyo that stretches into the clouds and seems to exist on another plane of existence entirely. It might sound like a lavish life of wonder, but they’re also right in the crosshairs of a mystical killer known as the Leather Man. Meanwhile, an investigator known as Private K (Charles Melton) fights his way through the city’s criminal underground.
What Made an Impression?: Return of the Winding: After breaking through in Hollywood with 2011’s acclaimed Drive, Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn’s output has been famously divisive. I actually found his 2016 bizarre nightmare horror flick The Neon Demon to be quite a hoot, but I could see why it didn’t work for everyone. Now that he’s returned to feature films a decade later with Her Private Hell, my reaction is, “Wait a minute, was I really ever a fan of Refn in the first place?” Now’s a good time to practice my compartmentalization skills.
Turning on the Charm: In the first 20 minutes or so of HPH, I was kind of vibing along with the stylized faux-reality. Most of Elle and Hunter’s repartee is profoundly shallow, but there are a few lines that have a bit of a satirical edge to them or enough pseudo-philosophical heft to sufficiently amuse me. So yeah, I must admit that I laughed, and I cannot deny that Refn’s whole impish deal can still hold its sway over me, at least in spurts.
It Was Nice Knowing Ya: At a certain point, though, my mind drifted about as far away from what was happening on the screen as possible. I lost the plot, and I wasn’t one bit interested in rediscovering it. But what is this plot that I speak of, when truly Her Private Hell can only boast of a facsimile of typical storytelling? This whole assemblage could have been pretty memorable as a music video. But as a feature length endeavor? It’s only memorable for how forgettable it is.
Her Private Hell is Recommended If: You’re still 100% in on NWR stock and nothing has ever convinced you otherwise
Grade: 2 out of 5 Leather Men
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