The Neon Demon (2016) Plot Summary & Timeline

The film begins with a stunning young blonde named Jesse, portrayed by Elle Fanning](/actor/elle-fanning), languidly reclining on a love seat, blood trickling down her body to the upholstery and floor beneath. She is being photographed by Dean (Karl Glusman), an amateur photographer she met online, thrilled to capture this unique moment for practice, while Jesse hopes to secure some headshots. After the photoshoot, she struggles to wash off the fake blood, and Ruby (Jena Malone), the makeup artist, kindly offers her assistance. Ruby discovers that Jesse is new to town and that this is her very first photoshoot. Jesse admits to staying at a shabby motel in Pasadena, prompting Ruby to extend her friendship and an invitation to a party later that evening.

At the party, Jesse encounters two Australian models, Sarah (Abbey Lee) and Gigi (Bella Heathcote), with Gigi boasting incessantly about her numerous cosmetic enhancements, while Sarah emphasizes the town’s obsession with sexual relationships. Despite the chilly reception from the seasoned models, Jesse revels in the event, captivated by a naked model “flying” over a stage beneath a mysterious blue triangle accompanied by strobe lights.

The following day, Jesse attends an audition at a renowned modeling agency, where she meets the interviewer, Roberta (Christina Hendricks), who lavishes compliments on her beauty and forecasts her success. When Jesse reveals her age of 16, Roberta arranges for a parental consent form and advises Jesse to tell others she’s 19 instead, as 18 seems too overt. That night, she celebrates her signing with Dean, who expresses his crush on her while remaining cautious because of her age. As Jesse looks for guidance regarding her decision to misrepresent her age, Dean reassures her to follow her instincts.

Jesse’s next step is a photoshoot with the acclaimed photographer Jack (Desmond Harrington). After Ruby finishes her makeup, Jack entices her into a closed-set shoot, where he seduces Jesse with his direction and covers her in gold paint, resulting in an extraordinary series of photos. Post shoot, Jesse meets Ruby, who warns her to remain wary of men like Jack. Grateful for Ruby’s friendship, Jesse feels she can rely on her.

Meanwhile, Ruby meets up with Gigi and Sarah at a diner, where they express concern over Jesse’s rapid rise in the modeling world. Ruby acknowledges Jesse’s unique qualities, frustrating Gigi and Sarah. Later that night, Jesse discovers something rummaging in her motel room, leading her to speak to Hank (Keanu Reeves), the unpleasant manager, who cruelly demands she pay for the damages caused by a wild cougar that invaded her space.

The next day sees Jesse at a casting call, where she faces hostility from Sarah. An unnamed designer, however, is instantly smitten with Jesse during her audition and hires her on the spot, inciting jealousy in Sarah, who spirals into a breakdown. When Jesse compliments her, Sarah questions the feeling of overwhelming love in a room, to which Jesse responds, “it’s everything.” In a moment of panic, Jesse injures herself on a broken mirror shard, leading Dean to find her bloodied and unconscious later. After caring for her, Dean confronts Hank, who makes lewd suggestions about Jesse.

At a fashion show run by the unnamed designer, Jesse stands out and is chosen as the closing model, aggravating Gigi and the other models. Amid the spectacle, Jesse experiences a vivid hallucination of mirrored versions of herself entwined in each other within the blue triangle.

Later, Jesse invites Dean to a privileged event with the designer and models, where the designer critiques Gigi negatively. Following an argument with the designer about superficial beauty, Dean storms out as Jesse asserts each model envies her allure, ultimately severing her tie with Dean.

That night, Jesse is plagued by dreams of being threatened by Hank and awakens to a more sinister reality when a man attempts to break into her room. After witnessing the assault of a nearby runaway girl, she calls Ruby, who invites her to stay with her at a luxurious mansion. Although Ruby comforts Jesse, their interaction turns uncomfortable as Ruby makes unwelcome advances.

The following morning, Ruby, frustrated after a night of disappointment, returns to her morgue job, where she, inappropriately, imagines Jesse while performing makeup on a corpse.

Back at the mansion, Jesse creates herself a glamorous look, ultimately ending her day standing on a diving board poised above an empty pool. When Ruby discovers her, Jesse reveals the lengths to which people might go to acquire beauty, before retreating from Ruby’s company. She finds Gigi and Sarah, who turn unusually hostile and assault her, ultimately pushing her into the emptiness of the pool resulting in her death.

Following this gruesome act, Ruby, Gigi, and Sarah, now revealed as vampiric entities reminiscent of Elizabeth Báthory, claim Jesse’s body. They continue their existence while indulging in the macabre remnants of their once-beautiful counterpart. The film culminates in Ruby watering plants over Jesse’s grave while Gigi and Sarah partake in a photoshoot, where Gigi finds herself overcome with illness after regurgitating a piece of Jesse. The disturbing cycle continues, leaving viewers with a chilling finale as Sarah eats the remnant of Jesse’s beauty.