The Neon Demon (2016)
Figures
Form & technique
- The final cannibalism and eyeball consumption scene → The Abject Borderline
- The artificial aesthetic of the fashion world (photoshoots, runways, parties) → The Hyperreal Mirage
- The film's overall highly stylized, theatrical, and artificial aesthetic → Camp Sensibility
- Refn's directorial style (slow pacing, neon colors, minimal dialogue, synth score) → The Auteurial Signature
- Ruby's necrophilia scene in the mortuary
Tropes
- Jesse's transformation from passive model to narcissistic performer → The Male Gaze
- The treatment of models' bodies as interchangeable, disposable assets → The Commodity Fetish
- Gigi's surgically-enhanced body in contrast to Jesse's 'natural' beauty → The Cyborg Body
- The motel and mansion environments, and the predatory older women
- The symbolic use of red, blue, and white throughout the film
Films most connected to The Neon Demon
- Edward Scissorhands (1990) — via The Commodity Fetish, The Hyperreal Mirage, The Cyborg Body, The Abject Borderline
- Return of the Jedi (1983) — via The Commodity Fetish, The Cyborg Body, The Male Gaze
- Barbie (2023) — via The Commodity Fetish, The Hyperreal Mirage, Camp Sensibility
- Dark Habits (1983) — via The Auteurial Signature, Camp Sensibility
- American Psycho (2000) — via The Commodity Fetish, The Hyperreal Mirage, The Male Gaze
- M3GAN (2022) — via The Commodity Fetish, Camp Sensibility
- The Breakfast Club (1985) — via The Auteurial Signature, The Male Gaze
- Amadeus (1984) — via The Auteurial Signature, The Male Gaze