Nicolas Winding Refn’s films tend to be light on plot. That’s not usually a problem though, since he supercharges them with atmosphere. One of his most effective tools for achieving his otherworldly aesthetic is soundtrack composter (and former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer from 1983-’86) Cliff Martinez. The pulsing, moody electropop soundtracks he provided to both 2011’s Drive and 2013’s Only God Forgives are so integral to the dreamy fabric of the films that they might as well be characters. Milan Records just released a sampling from Martinez’s work for Refn’s upcoming The Neon Demon, and it seems up to par:
In The Neon Demon, Elle Fanning stars — alongside Christina Hendricks, Jena Malone, Keanu Reeves, and an actual cougar — as a beautiful young model recently swept up into the gilded and formidable world of L.A.’s high fashion world, in which people apparently quite literally suck the blood of the fresh-faced and innocent. According to The A.V .Club’s Mike D’Angelo, who saw it at the Cannes Film Festival, “The movie ultimately doesn’t have a narrative so much as it has a message” about “society’s oppressive female beauty standards.” But it sure seems like he and Martinez built an immersive world, judging by this NSFW red-band trailer.
