Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Boring, baffling sci-fi/horror fluff with sex and violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Her Private Hell
What's the Story?
In HER PRIVATE HELL, it's the future, and a strange mist has changed the world. Actress Elle (Sophie Thatcher) returns home to find Hunter (Kristine Froseth) in her lobby. Both are preparing to make a new movie, a science fiction/action story. Elle's stepmother, Dominique (Havana Rose Liu), arrives with words of wisdom for Hunter. Meanwhile, a soldier called Private K (Charles Melton) searches through an ominous underworld for his daughter, who was abducted by a mysterious villain known as the Leather Man.
Is It Any Good?
This self-indulgent, pretentious sci-fi/horror tale tries to be the kind of movie once lovingly analyzed by film students, but it's all flash, glamour, and posturing around a center of nothingness. Her Private Hell marks the return of Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, whose last film was The Neon Demon. He's demonstrated a taste for sleek visuals and moody sound design and gained a fan club for his excellent crime film Drive, but he's had trouble coming up with anything else near that league ever since.
This movie is both boring and baffling, with moments that include women speaking to each other in "wolf," lots of flashing strobe lights, many naked statues, a sequence depicting the awful-looking sci-fi movie that Elle is working on, Melton trapped in a glass box for some reason, and more. It appears as if Refn made a concerted effort to alternately copy Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch. Characters speak very slowly, and there are attempts at Lynchian shocks. (A character places his face over a lamp to mirror Dean Stockwell's dramatic use of the shop-light in Blue Velvet.) The music score by Pino Donaggio (who composed most of Brian De Palma's movies) blankets everything like a lacquer. Ultimately, Her Private Hell just isn't about anything. For example, who is the Leather Man? What does he represent? It's very likely that no one knows. It's even more likely that no one cares.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Her Private Hell's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
How does the movie depict sex? What values are imparted? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values and expectations on this topic.
How is smoking depicted? Is it glamorized? Are there realistic consequences? Why does that matter?
Dominique explains to Hunter that she shouldn't measure her own worth against her "relatability" numbers. Does this seem like good advice? Why, or why not?
What do you think the Leather Man symbolizes?
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 24, 2026
- Cast : Sophie Thatcher , Charles Melton , Havana Rose Liu
- Director : Nicolas Winding Refn
- Studio : Neon
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Dystopia , Family Stories ( Dads )
- Run time : 109 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some strong/bloody violence, sexual content, and language
- Last updated : July 24, 2026
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