Nicolas Winding Refn‘s first feature directorial effort in ten years, a serial killer thriller called Her Private Hell, has secured a summer release date, with NEON planning to give the film a “moderate release in 800 to 1,200 theaters” on July 24th. Five weeks out from that date, the film has secured a rating from the Motion Picture Association ratings board: Her Private Hell is officially rated R for some strong/bloody violence,
sexual content, and language.
JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had the chance to watch the film at the Cannes Film Festival and wrote a 4/10 review that can be read at THIS LINK.
Sophie Thatcher (Companion), Havana Rose Liu (No Exit), Charles Melton (Warfare), Dougray Scott (Mission: Impossible II), Kristine Froseth (Sierra Burgess Is a Loser), Diego Calva (Babylon), Aoi Yamada (Perfect Days), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool & Wolverine), and Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car) star in the film.
Deadline heard that the movie has myriad storylines, but fires up in a metropolis future where actresses are gathering at a posh hotel where they’re set to make a Barberella-like movie. A heinous killer known as Leather Man is going around the city taking the lives of women.
As Bumbray described it, Her Private Hell is set in a future world enveloped by a strange mist. A young actress (Sophie Thatcher) stars in a sci-fi movie for her enigmatic father (Dougray Scott), whose wife (Havana Rose Liu) is her former lover. Meanwhile, an American soldier (Charles Melton) searches the neon-lit streets for his missing daughter, who has been abducted by the mysterious “Leather Man.”
Refn directed from a screenplay he wrote with Esti Giordani, whose credits include the TV shows The Skinny, I Love Dick, Room 104, Vida, and Stick
Although ten years have passed since Refn’s previous movie, Neon Demon, he has been keeping busy outside of the feature world. In addition to making made two streaming noir series (Prime Video’s 2019 Too Old to Die Young and Netflix’s 2022 Copenhagen Cowboy), he has also been a brand filmmaker for Prada, making shorts like 2022’s Touch of Crude.
The director is best known for making the 2011 film Drive. His other credits include Pusher, Bleeder, Fear X, Pusher II, Pusher III, Bronson, Valhalla Rising, and Only God Forgives. He was also one of the many directors who contributed to the “surreal and psychedelic journey” known as Circus Maximus. Although none of the projects he has made since Drive have been able to match the success or popularity of that film, he has made sure to remain a director worth keeping an eye on.
Are you looking forward to Her Private Hell? What do you think of the reasons given the film’s R rating? Let us know by leaving a comment below.