Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives, The Neon Demon) returns to feature filmmaking after a ten-year absence with Her Private Hell, a neon-soaked slasher co-written with Esti Giordani. The film premiered out of competition today at the 79th Cannes Film Festival and is set for a wide U.S. theatrical release through Neon on July 24, 2026, spanning 800 to 1,200 screens nationwide.
Set in a futuristic metropolis where a disorienting mist has descended and something lethal moves through the streets, Her Private Hell follows a young woman searching for her missing father while an American GI races to pull his own daughter out of danger. Meanwhile, a group of actresses checks into a grand hotel to shoot a Barbarella-inspired production — only to find themselves hunted by a killer known as Leather Man. The film draws on Refn’s signature visual excess and mixes it with genre machinery the director has long circled but never delivered quite this directly.
The film stars Sophie Thatcher (The Book of Boba Fett, Yellowjackets), Charles Melton (May December), Havana Rose Liu (Bottoms), Kristine Froseth (The Society), Dougray Scott, Diego Calva (Babylon), Shioli Kutsuna, Aoi Yamada, and Hidetoshi Nishijima. Principal photography took place in Tokyo and Copenhagen.
Neon — the distributor behind Refn’s Cannes connection and genre-forward releases including Longlegs — is handling U.S. distribution. An official teaser is now live on YouTube.
Her Private Hell opens in U.S. theaters July 24, 2026.
