Hell Bent for Leather

Her Private Hell (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2026)

Sometimes, a film comes along that really shakes up what I think makes it good or bad. Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell (2026), his first new effort in ten years, is a perfect example of this. It really stirs up the kind of mental tug-of-war in my head that makes me feel like Landru, the supercomputer, crashing out after being probed (⏸︎) by Captain Kirk. Therefore, it is not an easy task to summarise Refn’s incredibly challenging and polarising film when it defies the very conventions of a linear plot narrative, and prioritises a highly stylised visual aesthetic instead. One would call it superficial; and they would be right.

Set in a cyberpunk city where only the tops of the tallest skyscrapers and a colossal statue of a man rise above the clouds and the engulfing, mysterious mist below, it is here that Elle (Sophie Thatcher) is introduced. A beautiful celebrity actress with a perpetually cynical outlook on life returning to her luxurious penthouse in the neon-lit and generically named Tower Hotel. Elle meets her wide-eyed co-star and potential plaything Hunter (Kristine Frosethe) in the lobby. She’s destitute; she’s lost both her belongings and room. Elle amusingly says “Aren’t you the poor little match girl?” Hunter is confused by the question, prompting Elle to follow-up with Hans Christian Andersen’s name for reference. A waste of time for the young co-star, as she answers with “I don’t really listen to European music” before the pair ascend to the penthouse in the sky.

While Hunter is impressed by Elle’s luxurious abode, attire and jewellery, Dominique (Havana Rose Liu) makes her presence known. An uneasy tension exists between Dominique and Elle. It’s later revealed that they were once lovers. However, in a typical soap operatic twist, Dominique ended up marrying Elle's estranged father, film maker Johnny Thunders (Dougray Scott). Thus, the melodramatic elements of the film are firmly established. Elle is emotionally conflicted between her lingering affection for Dominique, and the paternal bond she craves from Johnny. The latter character is surrounded by the aforementioned trio and joined by the rest of his all femme cast from his latest movie, the retro-sci-fi film Candy Floss Girls. He shares the urban legend of the Leatherman with them:

“The Leatherman is a father searching for his daughter lost in the Underworld. A father cursed to search for lifetimes. Who eventually forgets who he is looking for. But when the mist returns, he remembers. He remembers her. He comes with the mist. Searching. His face; an infinite abyss. His strength; insurmountable. He wears leather gloves covered in razor sharp diamonds. Searching for her and any girl who sees him. For when you see him, he sees his daughter, and he will try and destroy you and anyone around you to get to her. And the only way to kill him is to cut off his hands. That’s why they say, ‘take care of your daughters, or he will.’” — Johnny Thunders



Her Private Hell does contain various plot threads, along with character motivations in extensive detail. However, Refn’s tendency to direct each scene in an excessively alien manner, can be very off-putting, and dare I say, bring about a whiff of pretentious art-house about it. But beneath the gloss, Her Private Hell is very much a horror film. The film’s pulsating neon lights and lavish sets, bear the look of a fashion shoot rather than the dark and desaturated look in more typical horror fare. Which ought to have put me off, but its obvious homages and references to genre cinema, which range from the films of Brian De Palma, Mario Bava and Seijun Suzuki, kept me invested enough to want to unravel all its layers and symbolism. Hence, accepting the bait to Refn's trolling. The extent of which, prompted me to analyse it forensically for answers. Along with letting the film marinate over the course of a couple of days, I came away with a more positive assessment of the film than most, despite some lingering issues. 

Her Private Hell’s more action-packed second plot is introduced shortly after Elle and Hunter witness the murder of a neighbour by The Leatheman. This is set in the past and involves Private K (Charles Melton), an American G.I. searching for his missing daughter. He encounters violent yakuza gangs during his quest. During his latest fight with the yakuza, he meets two eccentric dressmakers who also appeared in the first act of the film. They seem to be supernatural sages, who offer Private K. vital information on his daughter, as well as The Leatherman. The G.I.becomes imprisoned on an alien world. A neon landscape adorned with giant crystals. It looks exactly like the film set of Candy Floss Girls. It also happens to be the realm of The Leatherman.

Various themes and motifs from Refn’s previous work are present here. Perhaps the most obvious being a latent brutality that awakens with his characters. It manifests here with Elle chasing Dominique around the penthouse with the hatchet gifted to her from her father. With the exception of Private K, there’s also the distinct coldness and plasticity to the characters. They’re virtually mannequins in clothes.

There’s an overwhelming sense of love for genre cinema in Her Private Hell. From the obvious title borrowing of Norman J. Warren’s 1968 sexploitation film, to a glamorous, leather-clad giallo inspired antagonist. Scenes set inside a nightclub are very reminiscent of the opening credits sequence from Blood and Black Lace; which I absolutely loved. There’s plenty of that here to spot, while trying to comprehend what exactly is going on in the film. In many ways, Her Private Hell has a lot in common with the abstract films of French husband and wife film makers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, who borrow heavily from giallo and eurotrash cinema and convert them into more art house films. Much of the dialogue also comes as very Lynchian. An over used phrase by cinephiles, but an appropriate one for this film. The strange dressmakers could have easily been imagined from David Lynch’s mind. Of course, the biggest example of Refn’s affinity for genre cinema is having the legendary composer Pino Donaggio coming out of retirement to score his film and delivering an absolute banger of a soundtrack. It impeccably compliments Magnus Nordenhof Jønck’s beautifully stunning cinematography on the film.

In various interviews, Refn has revealed that he initially conceived two distinct stories which he subsequently unified by engineering a third narrative. He also admitted to frequently altering the script during filming; sometimes leaving his cast unaware until the final moment. This explains why the film’s plot often comes across as incomprehensible. It's doubtful that anyone other than Refn is even able to fully explain the film. Always a provocative film maker, his work has often been characterised by a mischievous and subversive approach; much to the detriment of viewers. His subsequent films, after his more accessible and widely popular Drive (2011), have been progressively more abstract. Both of his streaming exclusive television mini-series were even more niche. However, Her Private Hell appears to have pushed the boundaries even further and broken the patience of nearly everyone. It’s undoubtedly his most perplexing film yet.