Her Private Hell

Similar to Inland Empire, Refn’s film whirlwinds its way to an alternately funny and frightening confrontation with an evil incarnate that, once vanquished, allows for a mystical connection of lonely souls, a divine purge of long-held trauma, and an ambiguous way forward for those who remain.

More than the bursts of visceral violence, it’s Refn’s vibrant command of visuals that proves most exhilarating. Even if there was less plot, the consistently dark beauty of the film would be enough to carry it forward.

Whether or not the movie means anything at all beyond its surface pleasures and obviously Freudian subject matter is elusive, and it can feel like an alienating and nihilistic experience. But like every Refn movie, it is undeniably profound, deeply beautiful and perhaps deceptively deep, even as he’s playing dumb.

To be sure, there are moments when one can be amused by the shameless showiness of Refn’s pretentious design. But like that mist enveloping the city, Her Private Hell’s charms dissipate fairly quickly.

Some will love it, especially if you enjoy wallowing in genre mash-ups, sci-fi horror and Japanese fetishism. Many will hate it.

With ghoulish visuals, a coughed-up script in which Refn appears to pastiche only himself, and performances that even at their best just die onscreen under the portentous weight of the filmmaker’s dreadfully detached vision, it’s one of the most miserable theatrical viewing experiences in years.

Her Private Hell is a remarkably worthless creation.

Watching Her Private Hell in theaters upon the big screen was basically hell on Earth, but with a pathetic payoff. This movie was so bad that it doesn't make any sense and I found it confusing on what kinda film it wanted to be and what story they wanted to tell. It wants to be The Leather Man in a David Lynch kinda movie and a psychedelic fever like dream with the female characters dressed like David Bowie into a completely different Star Trek universe. I'm like: "Who was this made for?" More importantly, the acting performances are atrocious across the board, and the dialogue is absolutely abysmal. Nobody is giving a good performance in this movie and that's saying something. Everybody is robotic because of how badly acted and written they are and neither one of them have any personality to carry this movie as a whole. No emotions, range, feelings. Nothing. They give me nothing to latch onto or care about which is disappointing. Her Private Hell was a mixed bag, to say the least, and they couldn't even pull it off and execute it properly. Her Private Hell is an artsy, pretentious bore. This movie **** and it could've been a great movie into the hands of another director, writer, and producer. Her Private Hell should've came with a warning because of the glaring and strobing lights, especially if anyone is prone to seizures and epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised and watch with caution. Everything felt clunky and uneven. Nothing flowed properly. Hard pass. Don't recommend. Skip it. 0/10

Yet another complete failure of a movie to release in 2026, abundant in shock value but low on having an actual script or plot.