The “Hell” of the title of Nicolas Winding Refn‘s latest? It’s not just metaphorical. Well, maybe. As the synopsis for the Danish auteur’s return to feature filmmaking after nearly ten years tells us, “Her Private Hell” is about an actual journey into the depths. Or is it?
As the film readies to premiere out of competition at Cannes, Neon has released an intriguing first-look teaser for the film that shows off the (predictably) neon environs Refn and his cast are working inside, an off-kilter world that seems to owe as much to “Blade Runner” as Refn’s own previous films. At its heart: two people thrust into this hellish world for (potentially?) different reasons. Take a look.
Per the film’s official synopsis: “When a mysterious mist engulfs a futuristic metropolis, unleashing a deadly and elusive entity, a troubled young woman searches for her father. Her quest collides with an American GI on a harrowing odyssey to rescue his daughter from Hell.”
The film stars Sophie Thatcher as the young woman and Melton as the American GI. Kristine Froseth, Havana Rose Liu, and Diego Calva co-star. Refn wrote the film’s screenplay with Esti Giordani. Refn also produces the film alongside Lene Børglum, Christina Erritzøe, Takuma Takasaki, and Kimberly Willming.
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Refn explained his mindset in returning to Cannes with the film. “Here, now — not having done a movie in ten years practically — to go back and make a movie in a time where cinema has really shifted compared to 10 years ago. So much has happened to cinema that it’s almost like entering a strange forest where it’s all a bit inconcrete,” he said. “It’s hard to even define what the ecosystem is even like. And the power of the internet essentially driving everything and being the backbone of everything. Well, it’s a new playing field, I’ve been feeling. But the idea of creativity is still the same. It’s just the rules are a little bit different, but the aspirations are the same. And how do you navigate through that?”
Check out the first teaser for “Her Private Hell” below. Neon will release the film in theaters on Friday, July 24.
