10 Cyberpunk Movies with Visually Stunning Neon Lighting | Neon Nights

6 minutes read

| 6 May 2022

Some of the most visually stunning cyberpunk movies are those that make use of neon lighting. Neon lighting can add an otherworldly look to a movie, and it can help to set the tone for a cyberpunk story. Movies that make use of neon lighting include “Blade Runner,” “The Matrix,” and “Ghost in the Shell.”

We narrowed down a list of classic movies for you to watch by selecting a range that neon lights vastly improved. You may have noticed that neon signs are quite present in movies as they allow for impactful cinematography and strong visual statements. So, without further ado, here are some of our Favourite Movies featuring neon signs. It’s easy to see the appeal of neon lighting.

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction that has been gaining popularity over the past few years. Set in a future where advanced technology has become both ubiquitous and necessary for survival, cyberpunk stories often deal with the effects of this technology on society and the individual. One of the defining features of cyberpunk is its use of neon lighting, which gives the genre its distinctive look. In this list, we‘ll be taking a look at 10 cyberpunk movies that make use of neon lighting to create a visually stunning world.

Grab your popcorn and get inspired! You could turn your favourite movie quote into a neon sign. There was a resurgence in its use among visual artists, but Alfred Hitchcock used neon as both a psychological and stylistic device.

1. Enter the void

Set in Tokyo, the movie features plenty of neon-lit scenes that enhance the psychedelic atmosphere of the story. You will probably get the keys to every neon listing anthology by entering the void. It is certainly one of the most lucid illustrations of heavy neon use and it is excruciating whether you enjoy it. The Void is a doggy club in Tokyo where the protagonist, Oscar, is summoned by a client to sell him drugs. Except that the police catch up to them, Oscar rushes into the toilet to get rid of the stuff but is ultimately shot dead.

There are several neon light scenes in the movie Enter the void. One scene is when the main character, Oscar, is in a club and the whole room is filled with neon lights. Another scene is when Oscar is on a rooftop and the cityscape is filled with neon lights.

2. Blade Runner (1982)

The opening shots of Blade Runner are a vision of the future never seen before. Digital Domain spent two years completing 1,565 visual effects shots. For the rest of the film, we see everything through Oscar’s Ghost point of view which roams Tokyo. Oh, and all of that happened shortly after Oscar’s 5 minute DMT trip. Young Blade Runner K’s discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former Blade Runner Rick Deckard, who’s been missing for thirty years.

American neo-noir dystopian science. They hunted replicants who defy the ban and return to Earth after being “retired” by special police operatives known as Blade Runner. The plot focuses on a disparate group of recently escaped replicants hiding in Los Angeles and the burnt-out expert Blade Runner, Rick Deckard, who reluctantly agrees to take on one more assignment to hunt them down.

Gaspar Noé’s psychedelic drama was filmed at locations across Tokyo. Tokyo-set drama is like tripping on LSD while having your head jammed inside a pinball machine.

3. Skyfall

Sam Mendes’ Skyfall broke box office numbers around the world when it was released in 2012. An iconic scene takes place in Shanghai, where James Bond fights Patrice in an epic enclosure of glass, neon and LED screens. Cinematographer Roger Deakins used the neon jellyfish perfectly to create an eery, futuristic feel to the scene. With a colour palette that could be at home in a Dario Argento horror movie, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Freudian revenge thriller was shot in and around Bangkok, Thailand. In the film, interior and exterior locations are bathed in neon light and create an intoxicating movie experience.

The neon lights scene in the Skyfall movie is when James Bond is driving through the city in his Aston Martin. The scene is set at night and the neon lights make the city look very glamorous.

4. Beyond the Black Rainbow

Extensive use of neon lighting helped create the distinct 1980s sci-fi horror look Cosmatos desired. Panos Cosmatos recreates the aesthetic of late 1970s sci-fi with such mind-boggling attention to detail that it would be easy for an unsuspecting viewer to assume they stumbled onto a lost film from that era.

There are multiple neon lights scenes in Beyond the Black Rainbow. The first occurs when Dr. Barry Nyle (Michael Rogers) enters the Arboria Institute, and the second is when Soma (Eva Allan) is being tested in the lab.

5. Lost River

They’re both invested in the poetry of visual storytelling and less so in dialogue and traditional performances. Painter Edward Hopper inspired director Scott’s visual approach and a French sci-fi comic mag.

There are several neon light scenes in the movie Lost River. One scene, in particular, is when Bones (Matt Smith) is driving down the road and the neon lights are shining in his car.

6. Tulpa

Federico Zampaglione’s This erotic thriller is a fond homage to the golden days of 1970s Italian genre cinema. Lisa Boeri is a businesswoman with a secret double life. As a busy and serious worker by day, she frequents the private club Tulpa owned by a haunting Tibetan guru, where customers realize their sickest fantasies by night. As she is forced to investigate on her own, rather than expose her double life to the police, she will face a terrible escalation of death, mystery,tery and eroticism.

The neon lights in the Tulpa movie are used to create a number of different moods and atmospheres. In some scenes they are used to create a feeling of mystery and suspense, while in others they are used to create a feeling of beauty and romance.

7. Drive

If you like action dramas, Ryan Gosling and, of course, car chases, then this might just be the film for you. In Drive, we follow the journey of a mysterious man known as Driver, a Hollywood stuntman and mechanic by day and a getaway driver for criminals by night. Drive has inspired fans to create posters like the one above which is inspired by the movie’s neon themed aesthetic. The driver is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals.

There are several neon light scenes in the movie Drive. One scene, in particular, is when the lead character, played by Ryan Gosling, is driving at night and the cityscape is lit up with neon lights.

8. John Wick

John Wick is an action thriller film created by Derek Kolstad and directed by Chad Stahelski. Starting with Keanu Reeves. In the 2017 sequel, forced to honour a debt from his past life, Wick assassinates a target he has no wish to kill, then faces betrayal at the hands of his sponsor.

The most memorable neon light scene in the film John Wick is when Wick (played by Keanu Reeves) enters the Continental Hotel. The hotel is bathed in a warm, pinkish–orange glow, and Wick is silhouetted against it as he enters. The scene is both beautiful and eerie, and it sets the tone for the rest of the film.

9. Atomic Blonde

Atomic Blonde is a 2017 American action spy thriller film directed by David Leitch and written by Kurt Johnstad. Lorraine’s temporary Berlin apartment is a fantasy of international hotel design with absurd neon accents. There are so many lamps, which are further embellished by the neon lights on the ceiling and the purple glow of the columns. It’s the polar opposite of her home in London, which we glimpse at the beginning of the film.

Charlize Theron‘s character, Lorraine Broughton, walks through a dark hallway filled with neon lights.
Broughton enters a room with several other people and the neon lights flash brightly.
Broughton is in a club where she is surrounded by flashing neon lights.
Broughton is in a fight scene where the neon lights flash brightly.

10. The Neon Demon

The Neon Demon is a 2016 psychological horror film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.

Her pursuit of a man who can change the identity of strangers leaves Motoko pondering her makeup and what life might be like if she had more human traits. The film was shot on location in Bangkok, Thailand, and, as with Drive, is dedicated to Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky.

The Neon Demon has a number of neon light scenes, most notably the opening sequence and the club scene. The opening sequence is a montage of Los Angeles at night, set to the song “California Dreamin‘” by The Mamas & the Papas.
The neon lights are used to create a feeling of Los Angeles as a city of dreams, where anything is possible. The club scene is set in a dark, underground club called the Black Lodge.
The club is filled with neon lights, which create an otherworldly atmosphere. The scene is meant to be unsettling and creepy, and the neon lights add