Ahead of its Out of Competition premiere at the Cannes Film Festival today, the first teaser has dropped for Nicolas Winding Refn‘s Her Private Hell, his first feature since 2016’s The Neon Demon. The film opens in theaters July 24 through NEON.
Set in a futuristic metropolis overtaken by a strange encroaching mist concealing a lethal presence, the film follows a troubled young woman, (Sophie Thatcher – Heretic, Companion), as she searches for her missing father. Along the way, her path converges with that of an American GI undertaking his own descent into chaos in an attempt to retrieve his daughter from Hell.
Refn’s latest has also been described as involving a troupe of women preparing to shoot a Barbarella-inspired science-fiction film who find themselves pursued by a mysterious slasher figure known only as “Leather Man.”
The cast includes Charles Melton (May December, Warfare), Kristine Froseth (The First Lady), Havana Rose Liu (Bottoms), Dougray Scott (Irvine Welsh’s Crime), Diego Calva (Babylon), Aoi Yamada (Perfect Days), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool & Wolverine), and Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car).
The score is by Italian composer Pino Donaggio, best known for his collaborations with Brian De Palma on films including Carrie and The Howling, where his orchestral work became a defining feature of 70s and 80s horror.
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In an earlier interview with Deadline, Refn described the film as emerging from a near-death experience that fundamentally altered both his sense of self and his approach to cinema.
“Three years ago, I died, and I was dead for 20 minutes,” Refn said. “When you’re told that you’re maybe going to die within two weeks, a lot of things go through your mind: You’re afraid, angry, frustrated, sad, you lash out. But then, I realized that I’d been given a gift, that if I could come back, I was going to be given a second chance.”
“When I did come back alive, I had to start all over again, but this time, I had 30 years of knowledge,” he continued. “And I saw that I wanted to make movies again, the same way I’d wanted to make movies when I was young, but I also had a very specific mantra, which was: I will make things that come to me instinctively.”
Watch the first teaser for Her Private Hell below.
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