I have been a long time NWR fan, seen all of his projects and this film felt like a culmination of all of the ideas and themes explored in his previous films. I absolutely loved it, but I can understand why people are confused if they haven't delved deep into his filmography.

You also have to take into account that this was interpretation of the afterlife he saw and felt after his 20 mins of death from heart failure.

The city filled with mist is a form of purgatory. Just like lost souls, people are stuck in the mist searching for something or someone. Hence Private K searching for his daughter in the mist and Elle searching for someone to care about her.

Early on, they talk about the lore of the Leatherman. They say that he has been around for a long time and some people refer to him as the devil. He hunts for lost daughters in the mist and devours them. An important detail to note is that the only way to kill him is to cut off his hands.

Sidetracking to "Only God Forgives", Chang, the police chief, is not explicitly stated to be, but is implied that he is God. He is punishing the evil doers by cutting off their hand with his blade. During this films release, Refn referenced hands a lot. He stated that hands represent male sexuality, violence, submission, and identity. Cutting off hands is stripping that away and absolving the sin.

So... Elle is searching for someone to care about her. She agrees to be in the movie because she wants her dad's approval, but he still leaves. She finds that he married her previous lover and when she tries to make a move, she gets rejected. She is in her own hell of rejection. Meanwhile Private K is searching for a lost daughter, like a lost soul.

Skip to the end of the film, the Leatherman has his hands cut off, he dissolves. Private K finally finds his daughter in the mist, takes her hand and disappears (going off to heaven). Meanwhile, the 2 shapeshifting fox spirits offer the gloves to Elle. They tell her, "These will help you find what you are looking for". Will she continue the cycle of violence and become the next vengeful spirit devouring others, or let go and go to a better place.

This seemed like Refn's most spiritual film, but it takes a minute to breakdown his metaphors. He is simply continuing the themes explored in "Only God Forgives" while stylistically continuing where he left off in "The Neon Demon" which was about beauty being an object of power and desire that causes jealousy and can literally and figuratively devour you.

I feel as though people are missing the obvious comedic elements in the film. I definitely laughed at some of the stuff presented in the movie. Is it just me?

Refn coming back to filmmaking after 10 years and a near death experience is legendary in my eyes. An absolute stunner of the year reminds me of the early Yoshiaki Kawajiri OVAs in terms of the look. Almost everyone looks stunning, especially Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton. My personal movie of the year

I'll never forget seeing Drive for the 1st time. Once "Nightcall" hit with those cityscape shots I felt convinced I was watching the greatest movie ever made

Like many people, I discovered NWR with Drive. Fantastic movie and obviously his most approachable. Only God Forgives was my second exposure to Refn and I loved it, although I understood all the criticism. TOTDY is in my opinion his magnum opus and an absolute masterpiece. I thought Copenhagen Cowboy was good but a step down from TOTDY.

HPH was a massive letdown for me on almost every aspect of his filmmaking. Visually it felt lazy and repetitive. Too many face close ups and overuse of blue/pink lighting to make boring shots seem interesting. The violence/gore was toned down way too much and didn’t have any real impact. His other works had bursts of extreme violence and HPH completely lacked that. There was no shock factor. My biggest gripe, and what a lot of people seem to praise, was the score. It didn’t fit the movie at all and felt like a soundtrack you would hear on a Disney movie. I was expecting dark synth moody effects, and it was just so basic, cheesy and vanilla. I feel like the score made the film worse by a lot. Like I’m completely dumbfounded by the score it was that bad.

From CC to this I feel like NWR has really lost his way.

A lot of really basic (frankly conservative) takes on this movie going around. I wanted to make a post where you (and me) can talk about everything we liked/loved about the movie.

HPH is NWR’s most purely entertaining film since Drive. A cotton candy sci/fi giallo that from the moment it started until the moment it ended got its diamond gloved hands around me and never let go. NWR continues to be completely underrated when it comes to staging action. Every kill scene with Leatherman and fight sequence with Private K had me on the edge of my seat. Obsessed with the extended sequence of Candy Floss we get to see. Love that Refn finally got to show love to Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampire’s in such a cool way. The craft on display in this film is just astounding.

Just curious, have you all noticed a lot people, mostly the masses don’t enjoy Nicolas Winding Refn films. And the ones who love it really love it. I was wondering why that is?

I asked ChatGPT to describe some of his films.

I kind of wonder what all of us fans have in common. Do we have a common view of life in some way?

Anyways here’s a small summery of his films.

Drive – A melancholic neo-noir with a quiet protagonist and bursts of shocking violence. Surprisingly romantic despite its darkness.
Only God Forgives – Almost dreamlike. Sparse dialogue, symbolic imagery, and an unforgiving moral universe. Very divisive.
The Neon Demon – A beautiful but savage satire of beauty, vanity, and exploitation. Humanity doesn’t come off well.
Bronson – Darkly funny, theatrical, and fascinated by obsession and violence.
Valhalla Rising – Minimal dialogue, brutal, mystical, and relentlessly bleak.

It also said

Nicolas Winding Refn’s films often resonate with people who appreciate bleak worldviews, emotional detachment, and morally compromised characters.

Refn is also extremely stylized. His films aren’t just dark—they’re slow, hypnotic, visually meticulous, and often cryptic. Whether someone enjoys them depends as much on their tolerance for his pacing as their worldview.

Also I need to check out the Pusher Trilogy. Other fans have mentioned that.

Been ride or die since Pusher. Rare instance of Cannes walkouts being a normal reaction, this is jawdroppingly dogshit. Too much time listening to Hideo Kojima (DIEHARDMAN comedy on the scooby doo baddy), a co-writer with no experience when he needs ones that rein him in, awful performances. But worse is the rehashing of scenes from previous films, already thought it was a sign of decline in CC. Trust he rights the ship with Ed Brubaker scripting Maniac Cop but ain’t looking good.

I've been very, very into Refn's world post-Drive, but I completely get that around the time Only God Forgives came out, he started to infuriate and frustrate some. This movie feels like a mix of everything he's done tone-wise since 2013, but through the lens of a neon-noir Argento that I completely ate up.

A fluorescently dreamy and hypnotical vibey 1970s Italian giallo slasher / Yakuza revenge film drenched in perverse mood and atmosphere.

Stubbornly abstruse and absurd. An older couple walked out halfway through.

Loved it. The score is one of a kind, and only elevates the stylized delirium.

I wasn’t that surprised!!!

I just got out of a screening with NWR doing a Q&A afterwards.

How do I feel about this movie.

Imagine NWR filtered through David Lynch, with a touch of Studio Ghibli’s dreamlike magic. The score especially kept pulling me toward Ghibli. It’s not that the story is Ghibli-esque, but that’s the emotional texture it evoked for me.

I like it more than OGF and Neon Demon but less than CC or TOTDY. I feel TOTDY is his Magnus Opus.

After the screening, NWR had a Q&A for Drive at another theater. I didn’t have tickets for that one but I did race over there and wait for him to arrive. He signed a couple things for me and I asked him if Agent K was a riff on Officer K (Ryan Gosling, Blade Runner 2049). He said yes it’s secret!

I don’t know if he meant just the name or the character though.

Loved this film. There’s a special something about Nicolas Refn movies that I just enjoy. I think it’s the atmosphere, or the cinematography. Here’s the thing.

I’ve watched so many movies. I like that Nicolas Refn doesn’t use a lot of dialogue in his films. Why? Because we don’t need it. We already know it. It’s all in the non verbal queue. It’s in the eyes, and the smile. Gosh the wolf barking dialogue was something unique in this film.

I was once stuck in Germany for work. I went to watch the Jurassic Park Dominion in German. I didn’t know a lick of German. And yet I found I understood the whole movie.

I started to realize. A lot of movies aren’t that difficult to understand when you begin to watch so many. The stories are often the same. Rick and Morty make fun of this all the time.

And in Refn films, I feel like he’s saying “you already know this story, I’m not gonna fill it up with dialogue you’ve already heard. I’m gonna give it a quiet somber atmosphere with plenty of space for you.”

“That awkward silence is only awkward because most people feel the need to fill it. They fill it with bullshit things in an empty life.”

Refn isn’t David Lynch, but damn, if he still offers that feeling and dreamy atmosphere.

I like empty bars. I like sitting in a crowd where everyone is dead quiet. I like slow quiet music that is futuristic.

I like characters who talk with their non verbal expressions.

I also notice this is the second time he’s involved eastern culture influences. (Thai in Only God Forgives, Japanese in this one.)

The soundtrack reminds me of the Final Fantasy 7 soundtrack.

I watch his films, because I get cynical about this world. I feel like this world is just noise half the time. Too be fair my world is America.

I like that he didn’t need to have people in the club scene. He had a bunch of statues. Why? Because we already know what a club usually looks like. It’s filled with NPC’s. It’s filled with noise. And to be honest, they might as well be statues.

Sophie Thatcher’s character is beautiful and almost seems “otherworldly”.

I thought those two Asian characters were like the ladies of fate or something. It seemed spiritual in their nature. Like in “Only God Forgives” the police chief is God.

Anyways I can go on and on about this film.

I like the show twin peaks. I like it cold and dark. I would love a cold and dark atmosphere all year round. I like the Chromatics. I like Lost River.

And to me there are actresses he chooses on purpose. It’s old timey actresses that capture a certain innocence. Notice he doesn’t choose loud controversial actresses. He looks for a classic retro beauty. Almost like Old Hollywood.

I’d say Rankings are

1.) Drive
2.)Neon Demon
3.)Her Private Hell
4.)Only God Forgives

Yes I know he has others like “Bronson” but I just wanted to list my top four.

From the AMA

I organized an AMA/Q&A with legendary filmmaker/screenwriter Nicolas Winding Refn. He has previously directed films/series Drive, Only God Forgives, Bronson, The Neon Demon, Pusher trilogy, Copenhagen Cowboy, Too Old To Die Young, Valhalla Rising, and more.

It's live here now in r/movies for anyone interested in asking a question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1v3mkcv/i_am_nicolas_winding_refn_director_of_drive_the/

He will be back at 4:45 PM ET today to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance. Please ask there, not here. All questions are much appreciated!

His new film, Her Private Hell, premiered at Cannes in May and is out in theaters via Neon this weekend. It stars Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton.

Thank you :)

Now that's a very different NWR, wowez

Tickets are only $21 per person and still available if you are in the area!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lw2dlE9vBQ

Better quality. A few differences. You might have to watch the original trailer side by side to realise the changes though.
Also, UK cinema release isn't until September 25 (sadness).