The Neon Demon

Image via IMBD

The Neon Demon is a horror movie consisting of alluring aesthetics and pretty imagery. Tackling the fashion industry and high-end models, this film targets a genre that exposes vanity in the darkest way.

Jesse is an underaged model struggling in LA when her chances of making it big come true. Everyone around her either falls under her spell, greatly fascinated or becomes rapidly jealous at her growing success. Not as naive as she seems, Jesse is no fool to the look her peers attempt to recreate as beauty is presented as an unreachable reality or privilege someone such as herself is lucky to have obtained. Elle Fanning nails the innocent and virginal character whose appearance unleashes a deadly wrath among confused admirers.

Makeup artist, Ruby, befriends the new talent along with model friends, Gigi and Sarah. Watchful and curious, these girls prove to be vultures in disguise. No one’s safe in a shallow world that transforms insecurities into monsters. The closest thing to the fountain of youth, Jesse embodies the magical and immortal qualities of beauty all three girls eventually devour. Literally. The Plastics are nothing to starving models. Cannibalism and necrophilia are to be expected. Things don't only get bloody but extremely disturbing.

The Neon Demon isn’t for everybody. While the cinematography is a dream and excellent score supportive of its transformative moments, it moves forward at a snail’s pace only someone with patience can handle. Nothing truly groundbreaking occurs other than the exaggerated results of absolute beauty. The Neon Demon is visually striking. It’s hard to look away as this film openly indulges in its own theme. This film won’t change your life, but the visuals alone are enough to encourage your viewing. Watch if you wish.

Z for Zacharia

 

           Book Cover via Amazon              

It’s no argument, film adaptations are a common trend among filmmakers. Some succeed while others miss their mark, Z for Zacharia takes the latter. The movie looked promising as it was the trailer that prompted my reading of the novel. Due to this, I was under the impression I’d be reading a startling love story or tragedy. To my great surprise, I was in store for something much greater.

Z for Zacharia by Robert C. O’Brien is an unforgettable and exhilarating novel about the end of the world. Ann is the only survivor of a nuclear war, and for some explainable reason, the only place untouched by deadly radiation is a valley hidden away from the unknown dangers left of the world. When a figure in a suit appears, it leads trusting a stranger who’s allowed one moment of hope ruin their only chance of survival. Providing food and shelter to the man close to death, he suddenly turns on Ann in what becomes a frightening game of hide and seek.

The novel exceeded past my expectations and left me in a state of suspense. The adrenaline rush alone was something I had not thought was possible that I hoped to relive during the movie. Unfortunately, the movie did no such thing as its unrecognizable plot included love triangle only had one thing in common with the book, its title.

Watching the film, you can’t help but understand what the creators of this production were trying to capture. There’s no point denying that love triangles are enjoyable to watch but the problem with them is how often they’re used, their long exposure to audiences eventually bores them. We’ve seen the desirable woman torn between two men and vice versa. After a while, it all begins to look the same. If this is not delivered in an original or unique manner, the story ultimately fails to stand apart from the others we’ve come to see many times before. It’s this that I believe the creators of this movie tried to take advantage of the novel’s post-nuclear war setting. Choosing between the last two men on earth is a fascinating approach but one that failed nonetheless. It just didn’t deliver. The temptation to include a love triangle is understandable but completely unnecessary as there is enough to watch from Hollywood cinema’s long archive of messy romances.

Z for Zachariah is disappointing once compared to the novel. On their own, both might have different things to offer but it’s no contest, the movie is nothing but a missed opportunity at something truly amazing. The film’s ending not only comes up short but just didn’t live up to the suspenseful image created from its trailer.