Why Was This Movie So Disliked?

I see what you're saying and I think you're on the money to characterize the film as "aloof". But I find that aesthetic to be necessary given the soul-crushing content of the film. Refn presents such a stark vision, but balances that perfectly with a beautiful if disinterested Zen presentation. His camera never seems to recoil or waver, it just observes the sordid realities of these characters with a remarkable serenity. The cold and nearly impenetrable formal structure of the film is a crucible containing molten contents.

I like the hyper abstract and almost clinical quality of the film; the way it seems to play with its concepts mathematically; very formal--anything remotely sentimental or reassuringly human has been carefully deleted from this world.

It's arresting because the film is handling such dark subject matter, but the atmosphere is so calm and restrained. Beautiful contrast, in my opinion. But certainly comparable to the elemental and abstract Greek tragedies which recounted the harshest truths of the human condition without flinching. All great art I think represents the universe in microcosm, and this film seems to share that aspiration.


And you will know my name is The Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!

On the contrary, there's a lot to be said about Julian. He's a man who lost the fight against destiny / the inner judge / his own will. He contemplates powerlessly how judgement day draws near to him, with noir / ancient Greek-style resignation. He was caught in a war between his parents, his mother probably asking him to kill his father (she does say at some point that she never asked him anything "since his father"), which was an impossible predicament considering his passivity against his mother, and now he's waiting for retribution, like a mere pawn in the hands of - depending on your interpretation - fate, the gods of noir, the will of others. He's no more a blank slate than the typical noir hero. Well he is a tad more passive than those, almost bordering on an Aki Kaurismaki character, blankness and all, but that's because he's caught himself up in an impossible net of principles - do the right thing AND obey your parents.
...And then you have to add his mother's behavior bordering on incest, plus a brother with the ability to "meet the devil". In this kind of scenario, the only way to go is down - whether you do or you don't struggle against your fate. And Julian stopped struggling a long time ago.

there's a highway that is curling up like smoke above her shoulder

Man I love you… only stupid people think their intelligence is above average and try to boast about it.
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This movie is extremely bad on every imaginable level. There is really no plot to phone home about and the characters are shallow to inexistent. I like to allow for stories without likable characters (I don't know why people often insist on agreeable protagonists). The soundtrack is abominably unimaginative and clichéed, camera views and angles a lousy potpourri of stale copying (not even intelligent plagiarism that would count as flattery to the originals). And the Oedipus-topic appears as the dumbest version of it in movie history including the "artistic" penetration scene between son and (attention spoiler - dead) mother. What an aspiring/failing pretentious rubbish.
I'm getting to lazy to point out some would-be-references to south asian filmmaking with a dash of Lynch and a whisp of Tarantino (and many more badly seasoned ingredients), nothing would do the "forefathers" any justice. A very high fall from the average works "Fear X" and "Drive" by Winding Refn.

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