A troubled young woman searches for her father as a mysterious mist engulfs a futuristic metropolis, unleashing a deadly and elusive entity. Her quest collides with an American G.I. who's on a harrowing odyssey to rescue his daughter from hell.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Shioli Kutsuna, Aoi Yamada, Dougray Scott, Diego Calva, Hidetoshi Nishijima
Release Date: July 24, 2026
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated R for some strong/bloody violence, sexual content, and language.
Runtime: 1h 49m
Review:
Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell boasts a dreamlike quality that pops off the screen; however, its muddled scripting and lackadaisical pacing saps the film of any propulsive energy that makes the film feel far longer than it actually is. Nicolas Winding Refn has proven he’s more than capable of delivering the kind of singular visuals that will stay with you long after the film ends, something, a talent on display here. He creates an atmosphere that’s initially enticing and engrossing as we are plunged headfirst into this world and its mythology, but the story never matches the quality of what’s thrown on screen. The script is peppered with stiff dialogue that saps the performances of any energy for long stretches of time. There are some fascinating themes running under it all, but it’s all executed in such a thoroughly clumsy fashion that the story doesn’t keep you at arm’s length as much as it shoves you out of the way. The majority of the dialogue is delivered in the most monotone manner possible with only a handful of bloody action sequences perking up the energy onscreen. The story isn’t terribly cohesive by design, which wouldn’t be much of an issue if it wasn’t so hard to trudge through some odd creative choices that feel like it handcuffs the film’s cast. Sophie Thatcher leads the film, clearly buying into the director’s vision, with an impressive level of commitment that you’re left wishing she’d been given free rein to flesh out her character. There’s only one moment in the film’s final act where she’s able to unleash a noticeable level of ferocity that brings her character to life, something sorely missing beforehand. The rest of the cast suffers from a similar fate with Kristine Froseth as the new girl, Hunter, seeming to find some spark of life every time she pops up onscreen. Charles Melton and Havana Rose Liu are mostly constrained to looking good throughout but given very little else to do. Shioli Kutsuna’s Ms T and Aoi Yamada’s Ms S are interesting muse like characters that pop up here and there bringing a very specific energy to the screen that almost like performance art. Dougray Scott’s Johnny Thunder is intriguing in the early sequences, but the character disappears after the first act and never returns. Her Private Hell is the kind of film that feels designed to be divisive in its overall approach, but it can’t overcome the general fact that it’s never as engaging or smart as it thinks it is.
C-
