Amazon To Distribute Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon

The prospect of a horror movie from the filmmaker behind the unique, violent dramas ‘Drive’ and ‘Only God Forgives’ was already a promising one - and now, things have got that little bit more interesting.

Shot earlier this year in Los Angeles, Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘The Neon Demon’ is set in the modelling industry, stars Elle Fanning in the lead, and is described by its notoriously enigmatic director as “a horror film about vicious beauty.”

An independent production, it has been purchased at the American Film Market by Amazon Studios - who will also distribute the film to US cinemas.

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While the online retail giant branched out into original content with the formation of Amazon Studios back in 2010, this will be their first acquisition to be released theatrically, rather than taken directly to their Amazon Video platform.

However, ‘The Neon Demon’ will not be the first big screen Amazon Studios film, as the company will first release Spike Lee’s ‘Chi-Raq’ to American cinemas next month. While this cinematic wing of Amazon is limited to the US for now, it does represent a significant step into another platform for the already massive company.

Not a great deal is known about the plot of ‘The Neon Demon,’ but is believed to centre on Fanning as a young, up-and-coming model who falls foul of a shady cabal within the fashion industry which feeds on youth.

Also appearing in the film are Keanu Reeves, Jena Malone, Bella Heathcote, Abbey Lee and Christina Hendricks (the latter having previously worked with Refn on ‘Drive’).

No release dates for ‘The Neon Demon’ have been announced, but reportedly Amazon plan to release the film stateside next summer.

Picture Credit: Gaumont