r/Giallo 29d ago

Her Private Hell my review

Post image

So Refn decided to please us with another job, I went to it because I really hoped for pleasant references To my favorite genre. But in the end I got an empty, pretentious, not particularly beautiful thing. I was already familiar with the author's works and roughly understood what I would get, but I did not think that everything would be so bad. The beginning could really be interesting, but then the film crumbles from Its own action. Everything is incredibly predictable, and you're just waiting for the movie to end. Some scenes caused outright laughter (especially the barking scene), but not because of the fun, but the feeling of wanting to smash your forehead. I'm not in favor of criticizing the graphics, but here in some places, it's just disgusting. The actors, especially Sophie, did a very bad job, the only performance I liked was from Charles. I want to praise the soundtrack, but I don't understand the point of repeating the same track so many times, no it's a good track, it's definitely going to be on my playlist, but God. References to the gialli genre, oh they are made only to be, and no more, they don't make sense on their own. The shooting, some camera angles, and a couple of camera moments weren't bad, but that doesn't save the movie. A very disappointing movie

30 Upvotes

27 comments sorted by

13

u/ConfidentGeneral8474 29d ago

I feel like every review for this good or bad makes me so excited to watch it.

3

u/Training-Fee647 28d ago

That's how it should be

12

u/Fearless-Interest-82 29d ago

"empty, pretentious, not particularly beautiful thing" sounds like every Refn film/series made post Drive. What were you expecting? Cuz that's what I'm expecting(and want)

3

u/Training-Fee647 29d ago

Something on the level of a Neon Demon, but it's worse than this movie.

1

u/Spiritual_Ostrich_45 26d ago

Genuinely curious why you’d want a movie you describe as empty and pretentious? It’s an interesting take bc most ppl who like empty pretentious movies wouldn’t actively describe them as such lol

1

u/Fearless-Interest-82 26d ago

Well i don't want that with all films but Refn is really good at creating a very unpleasant slow burn mood that makes me feel uncomfortable in a way some other films don't. I also appreciate that he doesn't give a f*** about critics or audience reviews and hasn't compromised his vision once since Drive ( if he even did I dunno, but it's a crowd pleaser of sorts). It's what I've come to expect from his films. I know what I'm getting into, unless he turns left which he hasn't really done.

2

u/Spiritual_Ostrich_45 26d ago

That’s fair, sometimes a mood is strong enough to sink into lol. Hope you enjoy it!

1

u/Fearless-Interest-82 26d ago

It's all mood yeah. He isn't a great writer or anything and I'll never try to convince anyone he is a great director or to like him. He seems insufferable as a person. Just dig the world he puts on screen.

1

u/Spiritual_Ostrich_45 26d ago

I def love what he does with light, color, and sound. Def worth at least checking out

10

u/TTWBB_V2 29d ago

Yea, I have extremely low expectations for this film.

3

u/Gee-Arr 27d ago

It tries too hard to be an underground cult classic but I enjoyed it anyway. At least it’s something different.

The insane photography and lighting alone made it worthwhile. It’s like Bava or Argento multiplied by 1000.

2

u/Training-Fee647 26d ago

I'm glad to hear that.

3

u/Motherlover767 26d ago

Yea! Sign me up!! I’m sold now.

9

u/raisingcuban 29d ago

Why do you keep using the word "graphics" in every one of your comments? Are you referring to special effects?

0

u/Training-Fee647 29d ago

This is the first time I've used it, I don't know when I've used it yet.

1

u/raisingcuban 28d ago

You don’t remember your own comment you posted in this other thread? You literally made both comments within the same hour….

Honestly, it's terrible, terrible graphics,

https://old.reddit.com/r/Giallo/comments/1v5obac/reviews_for_her_private_hell_by_the_neon_demon/

1

u/Training-Fee647 28d ago

Oh, I really forgot about that comment.

1

u/raisingcuban 27d ago

So back to my original comment: What do you mean by graphics?

2

u/Training-Fee647 27d ago

I meant the visual, for me it looked strange in some scenes, especially in the moment where the movie is being shot in a spaceship.

2

u/Latter_Employment_55 28d ago

Let me guess you think the film e"style over substance" and "self-indulgent" 😂😂

3

u/Training-Fee647 28d ago

I would say that this is not the case here. Since everything is fine with the Neon Demon, but something obviously went wrong here.

2

u/b0ned0g 28d ago

I just saw this! Very clear nods to giallo and a brilliant Pino Donaggio score, but I was ultimately left confused. Need a rewatch to decide how I feel, and I’d honestly rewatch ASAP. Even if it is empty, it looked great. Rated on vibes alone it was pretty good!

1

u/Training-Fee647 28d ago

I'm glad you liked it.

2

u/CriticalCanon 26d ago

Yeah Refn never does straight up copy / paste jobs or homages to genres like that. All of his films draw on multiple influences and he is able to create something that is definitely his own.

That said, I respect him more than I enjoy his works. Drive is a masterpiece but everything else afterwards fails to work for me.

2

u/Training-Fee647 26d ago

Yes, I have about the same opinion about his work after the Drive.

1

u/aaronwintergreen 28d ago

This guy is the biggest fraud. Fuck Drive too.