Coming soon to a cinema near you: Grim film featuring murder, cannibalism and lesbian NECROPHILIA that even shocked Cannes is now set for British screens 

  • The Neon Demon was given its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 
  • Starring Elle Fanning, it depicts scenes of cannibalism and necrophilia
  • But critics booed and some stood up and left during the screening 
  • The film was co-written by 29-year-old British playwright Polly Stenham 

By Jennifer Newton for MailOnline

Published: 12:53, 21 May 2016 | Updated: 12:54, 21 May 2016

A controversial film due to be released in cinemas this summer has been booed at the Cannes film festival for depicting scenes of murder, cannibalism and lesbian necrophilia.

The Neon Demon, starring Elle Fanning, is about the cut-throat fashion industry and women's willingness to go to extremes to be considered beautiful.

However, when the film, which also stars Christina Hendricks and Keanu Reeves, received its premiere in Cannes on Thursday night, critics openly booed with some even leaving the screening due its graphic nature.

Elle Fanning starring in The Neon Demon, which was booed during its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 

Elle Fanning starring in The Neon Demon, which was booed during its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 

Viewers were left stunned by the scenes, showing violence against women and even a part featuring lesbian necrophilia.

The film is set for release in July but according to the Telegraph has yet to be submitted to the British Board of Film Classification.

It is not clear if the board will require the film to be edited for mainstream cinema audiences given the graphic scenes.

However, director Nicolas Winding Refn's previous outings Drive and Only God Forgives, have been given 18 certificates.

The movie was co-written by British playwright Polly Stenham, a 29-year-old, an acclaimed writer, who created the plays That Face and Tusk Tusk.

The movie was co-written by British playwright Polly Stenham, pictured, a 29-year-old, an acclaimed writer, who created the plays That Face and Tusk Tusk

The movie was co-written by British playwright Polly Stenham, pictured, a 29-year-old, an acclaimed writer, who created the plays That Face and Tusk Tusk

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, pictured with Elle Fanning, later defended the film after the booing saying it was a 'commentary on the obsession with beauty'

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, pictured with Elle Fanning, later defended the film after the booing saying it was a 'commentary on the obsession with beauty'

She has previously spoken about how she asked by Refn to come on board with the project to create a horror film with female protagonists.

However, after working on the first draft of the script, she left the movie amicably to develop a play for the National Theatre.

It was then taken on by Mary Laws, a graduate of American Yale Drama School, and it was then that it is said the script 'evolved significantly'.

However, Danish director Refn later defended the film after the booing saying it was a 'commentary on the obsession with beauty.'

He said his film was about how the digital revolution had united death and beauty, and that as a father of daughters he found the obsession with looks 'terrifying'.

It is not clear if the classification board will require the film to be edited for mainstream cinema audiences given the graphic scenes

It is not clear if the classification board will require the film to be edited for mainstream cinema audiences given the graphic scenes

He explained: 'It is an obsession that has only grown.

'Because of the digital revolution you can alter the look so what you are seeing is unreality. That means it is dead.'

He said the necrophilia scene between a make-up artist who works at a morgue and one of the corpses, was 'the essence of the film, that beauty and death is the end of the line.'

Refn added the scene was filmed in a real Los Angeles morgue, with 'dead bodies next to us to build up the mood'.

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