While audiences keep asking for original movies from visionary directors, when they get delivered, no one seems to bother. You would think that the incredible buzz around Nicolas Winding Refn‘s bonkers “The Neon Demon” might generate some box office heat, but it utterly flopped this past weekend, making it a particularly high-profile disappointment for Amazon and Broad Green Pictures. And even composer Cliff Martinez, once again collaborating with the filmmaker, reveals that expectations were certainly high in an interview given before the film’s release.
“Nicolas brought me into the process very early, even before he wrote the script. When I asked Nicolas what the film would be, he told me that the big difference was that ‘The Neon Demon’ would be about women, whereas all of his other films were about men. Nicolas also told me it would be a very commercial film because of its theme of beauty and the obsession, which are universal ideas,” he told Film Music Magazine. “I thought, ‘What would a Nicolas Refn movie about women be like?’ And when I saw two women bathing nude in a shower of blood, I said ‘Oh, of course! I should have seen that coming! That’s the kind of ‘women’s’ movie Nicolas would make!’ ”
But it seems those commercial prospects really didn’t pan out. Regardless, we’re left with another great score from Cliff Martinez, which you can now listen to below. “The Neon Demon” is now playing in theaters, and if you want to see it on the big screen, you better hurry, because it might not be there for long.