The Neon Demon is the work of Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, released five years on from his Hollywood breakthrough Drive.

And stars Elle Fanning as Jesse, an orphaned teenager who's moved to Los Angeles to pursue a modelling career. Although shy and timid at first, her star is soon on the rise, with industry heavy hitters fawning over her natural beauty.

Jesse has also caught the eye of makeup artist Ruby (Jena Malone), as well as models Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and Sarah (Abbey Lee). Despite seemingly to bring her into the clique, there's an uneasiness to the whole affair - particularly when it comes to the latter pair, who are her rivals after all.

Describing anything more than this - and getting into the trio's motives - would constitute a major spoiler, so that will do. But, it must be said that the film's third act is where it truly goes off-the-wall.

The biggest name in the cast is Keanu Reeves, who plays the sleazy owner of the motel that Jesse is living in. His role is quite limited, but his screen time is spent in scenes that are pivotal to the tone of the movie.

Similarly, in terms of duration, Christina Hendricks - of Mad Men fame - makes little more than a cameo appearance early in the film as the modelling agency owner, but her role does help set the trajectory. She was also in Drive.

And while only Lee's character has the accent, both her and Heathcote are actually Australian. The latter another graduate of Neighbours, while the former - fittingly - was a model before moving into acting.

Debuted to the world at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the mixed response of audiences there would carry over into the critics' reactions upon its wider release - split. Although Refn's previous release, Only God Forgives in 2014, and Drive were similarly divisive.

The main criticisms are that it's style-over-substance and at times (that third act) gratuitous. While those in the other camp praised the look of the film [more on that below] and bold direction.

Box office wise, The Neon Demon only pegged back about half of its not-so-big budget of $7 million. And while its title could probably be mistaken for a superhero movie, it's clear from looking at the figures from that year, that's the genre audiences were flocking to see - with Captain America, Deadpool, and Batman v Superman, cleaning up.

Its best shot at gaining a fan base was always going to be as a cult film. But even then, it's bit divisive when it comes to lovers of particular genres - a bit too arty for horror fans, too horrific for the arty crowd.

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The Neon Demon was marketed with the tagline "beauty isn't everything, it's the only thing", therefore it's so apt that the most unforgettable part is how it looks - similarly, criticisms of it being vapid miss the point, it is set in the fashion industry. The cinematography and use of colour, particularly against darkness, is stunning, so clicking the HD option is a must.

You could almost pause at any point and print out a still image that could be hung on a wall, depending on your taste of course. Speaking of which, not everyone would be able to stomach this movie - what's shown [or implied] would be brutal enough for most, and one scene in particular absolutely earns it the R18+ rating.

It's plodding, but always gripping. And there's an ominous tension throughout the entire run time that leaves you feeling that something bad is going to happen.

Unless you're particularly well-versed on the subject of Pagan imagery and symbolism, there's no shame in jumping onto YouTube and checking out an analysis of the movie in order to fully grasp what's on screen - particularly during the infamous third act. However, this should be AFTER you've watched it, as any explanation will inevitably contain spoilers.

Then you might want to watch it again - provided you weren't too put off by the first viewing - because it really is that type of flick. Again, The Neon Demon definitely isn't for everyone, and because of that it was never going to light up the box office, but the medium of film is far richer for having movies such as this that come along and push the boundaries.

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