In the film’s climactic sequence, Jesse’s success marks her for destruction. Ruby, a makeup artist whose alluring but menacing presence shifts from protector to predator, gathers two jealous models, Sarah and Gigi, to enact a horrifying ritual.
They murder Jesse in a blood-soaked ceremony that involves cannibalism, a literally visceral metaphor for how the industry consumes youth to maintain its own glow.
This gruesome act shocks the viewer but also serves as an allegory for the ruthless competition and exploitation at fashion’s heart. Critics have pointed out that this ritual is emblematic of the insatiable nature of the fame and beauty industries, which consume their young stars as quickly as they propel them to stardom.
The film’s unsettling visuals, glowing neon lights, elegant but sinister costumes, and haunting score heighten the sense that beneath glamour lies darkness waiting to erupt.
Jesse is not only a victim of violence but also of the way beauty is objectified and weaponized in modern culture. As Ruby and the models share her flesh, their reactions, especially Gigi’s sickening inability to digest, underscore the hollowness of their obsession.
Here, beauty becomes both desired and destructive, a force that simultaneously empowers and erases those who chase it.
Rituals of Desire: Myth, Symbolism, and the Occult in Neon Demon’s Climactic Scene
The startling violence of The Neon Demon’s finale is embedded in a web of symbolic imagery that requires attention to fully grasp. Refn’s use of visual motifs, neon triangles, reflections, and animal symbolism frames the story as a dark ritual.
The triangular neon light, a recurring shape in the film, frames the women as witches or occult figures, with Jesse trapped at the center of a deadly power dynamic.
Mirrors play an important role throughout, symbolizing both vanity and fractured identity. Jesse’s self-image waxes and wanes as she transforms from innocent victim to marked prey, captured repeatedly in multiple reflections that suggest a loss of self beneath constructed images.
The Neon Demon (Credit: IMDb)
The murder scene in Ruby’s mansion takes on the air of a ceremony, linking it to ancient rites of sacrifice where beauty is offered up to hungry gods.
Further darkness shines through Ruby’s necrophilia scene later in the film, which blurs the lines between death, desire, and possession. This scene affirms Ruby’s twisted hunger and reveals the extremity of the film’s statement on dehumanization.
Animal motifs, such as the leopards stalking Ruby, contribute layers, evoking primal instincts beneath the polished surface of superficial glamour.
More than a mere horror device, the film’s surreal and ritualistic qualities emphasize the consequences of commodifying beauty and youth. The models’ cannibalistic pact becomes a symbolic story about power, control, and destruction disguised as allure.
The neon lighting and stark use of colors reinforce the film’s dreamlike, nightmarish quality, both thrilling and disturbing.
Art, Outrage, and Ongoing Debate: The Neon Demon’s Polarizing Impact
The Neon Demon did not divide audiences quietly. Upon release, the film shocked many with its unsettling content, especially the explicit depiction of cannibalism and sexuality.
This ending sparked a wave of discussion: while some praised Refn’s artistic boldness and innovative approach to horror and social commentary, others questioned whether the film’s shocking imagery overshadowed its potential depth.
Critics comparing The Neon Demon to films like Black Swan noted its commentary on the destructive nature of perfectionism and fame, though some felt Refn’s visuals sacrificed narrative nuance.
Discussions on platforms such as Reddit reveal a spectrum of opinions; some viewers admire the film’s metaphorical complexity, while others see the finale as needless provocation.
The film also reopened conversations about misogyny in Hollywood and the toll of an industry obsessed with youth and appearance.
Ruby’s character embodies this, oscillating between enabler and predator, making the story not only a critique of external pressures but of internalized violence among women competing in a harsh environment.
The film’s necrophilia and cannibalism scenes remain particularly divisive, forcing audiences to face uncomfortable truths about desire, consumption, and identity.
In the years since its release, The Neon Demon has maintained a cult status, continuing to spark debates among cinephiles, scholars, and horror fans alike. Its finale, unsettling and ambiguous, refuses easy answers and invites viewers to question their own complicity in systems that consume beauty while discarding humanity.
The Neon Demon remains a striking example of horror’s ability to blend spectacle with scathing societal critique. Its ending, far from gratuitous gore, serves as a brutal metaphor for the dark side of beauty and the cost of desire in a world that prizes image above all.
Through savage rituals, haunting symbolism, and unforgettable visuals, Refn’s film forces a confrontation with the hidden horrors lurking beneath the surface of fashion’s neon-lit facade.
The ending of Under the Silver Lake leaves viewers reeling , with layers of noir mystery, social criticism, and surrealist dream logic. As Sam (Andrew Garfield) chases the disappearance of his neighbor Sarah, what starts as an offbeat missing-person case morphs into a wild tangle of codes, cults, and Hollywood folklore.
Sam’s investigation leads him to an actual underground bunker where he learns that Sarah is a willing participant in a bizarre ritual: wealthy men entomb themselves with three women, believing their souls will ascend to another realm.
Each symbol and clue he cracks, chess moves, cereal boxes, vintage magazines, pulls Sam deeper until he realizes the conspiracy was real, but the result is heartbreak. Sarah calmly accepts her new afterlife role, leaving Sam to grapple with a puzzle he solved but cannot change.
The Homeless King, a figure Sam previously regarded as mythic, turns out to be the cult’s earthly guardian. He ultimately spares Sam and delivers a final warning about the hidden symbol: it means “stay quiet”. The meaning is clear: Sam now knows too much, but is just as powerless as before.
Housing insecurity and paranoia haunt the closing scenes as Sam returns home to eviction; the cost of truth is alienation and homelessness, not victory. This ending ties together the city’s dream-and-nightmare duality, portraying LA as a place where secrets are real but learning them grants no peace.
Paranoia, Pop Culture, and the Spiral Into Obsession
What sets Under the Silver Lake apart from standard noir mysteries is its relentless meta-commentary on obsession, coincidence, and the dangers of seeking “hidden meanings.”
Sam’s journey is riddled with coded messages in pop songs, movies, and even breakfast cereal, each clue both absurd and plausible in conspiracy-obsessed Los Angeles. The movie pokes fun at viewers searching for “easter eggs” everywhere, reflecting real online culture as fans dissect every frame for secret messages.
The infamous “songwriter” scene, where Sam meets a man who claims to have written every pop hit as social control, lampoons our era’s suspicion that all culture is manipulated by elites.
Under The Silver Lake (Credit: Amazon Prime Video)
These meta-layers force viewers to interrogate Sam’s perspective and reliability. Is he uncovering real secret societies, or projecting meaning onto coincidence because he’s adrift and lonely?
Critics at SlashFilm and Bright Wall/Dark Room point out that Sam’s obsession does not yield satisfaction, unmasking the cult only underscores his outsider status and existential confusion. The recurring symbol, “stay quiet,” turns into a rebuke not just for Sam but for audiences hungry for omniscient answers.
Under the Silver Lake suggests that constantly seeking truth may not heal anxiety about modern life or media; sometimes, finding “the answer” leaves us even more lost.
Illusion, Alienation, and the Search for Meaning in LA
By the film’s end, Sam’s world is even more unstable than when he began. Sarah’s participation in the cult shatters his romantic vision: she didn’t want rescuing, and the city’s secret societies do not need a lone hero.
Sam skulks naked on his landlord’s balcony, stripped of illusions, literally and metaphorically homeless as the camera holds on the “stay quiet” scrawl. Both a noir sendup and a generational satire, the film turns the quest for answers into a warning about the costs of obsessive curiosity.
Critics from Variety and The Reveal note the movie’s sly allusions to LA classics like Chinatown and Mulholland Drive, but highlight how it speaks to our era’s “conspiracy culture” and feelings of powerlessness.
Neil Young’s “Only I Know the Secrets” and pop-culture symbolism compare “answers” in the movie to internet rabbit holes, leaving viewers unsure how much is real or projection. As housing instability closes in and friends vanish into cults, the only certainty is uncertainty.
The film’s last moments , with Sam exiled from his life’s story, cement Under the Silver Lake as a modern myth, a puzzle about why we chase meaning, who profits from our paranoia, and what’s left for those who solve Hollywood’s secret codes.
