Baby Invasion | |
---|---|
Directed by | Harmony Korine |
Screenplay by | Harmony Korine |
Produced by | Judd Allison Xlord |
Edited by | Adam Robinson Leo Scott |
Music by | Burial |
Production companies | EDGLRD Picture Perfect |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Baby Invasion is a 2024 American experimental thriller film written and directed by Harmony Korine, produced through his EDGLRD multimedia company. The film centers on a home invasion in which the intruders' faces have been swapped with baby faces using artificial intelligence. [1] According to Korine, the film is structured as a first-person shooter game with interactive elements. [2]
The film had its world premiere out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, on August 31, 2024. [1] The film had its United States premiere at Fantastic Fest 2024, on September 23, 2024. [3]
In a first person shooter game leaked to the dark web, a group of mercenaries disguised with baby faces invade mansions of the wealthy and powerful. [4] However, as gamers livestream the game, the protagonists’ gang of horrific murders may or may not be happening in real life.
In an interview with Variety , Korine characterized Baby Invasion as well as his previous EDGLRD production Aggro Dr1ft as works of "post-cinema" he termed "blinx" for their unconventional nature. [2] Visual effects for Baby Invasion were created using artificial intelligence and video game engines. [2] British electronic producer Burial created an original score for the film. [4] Of the score, Korine said, "I never actually met Burial and I never actually spoke with Burial. So it was all done through Discord messages, and we'd kind of talk on PS5. And then the music was sent through PS5." [5]
Baby Invasion premiered out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2024. [1] During the Venice press conference, Korine sat next to visual effects artist Joao Rosa and fellow filmmaker Gaspar Noé, who was wearing a neon green mask, and smoked a cigar, causing smoke to fill the conference room. He expressed that "Hollywood ... would be smart to — encourage the youth, the kids. Why we're starting to see Hollywood crumble creatively is because they’re losing a lot of the most creative minds to gaming and to streaming. They're so locked in on convention and then all those kids who are so creative are now just going to find other pathways and go to other places because movies are no longer the dominant art form." He also revealed that, "When we release the film, there'll be a way to watch it through your phone, but there'll be certain codes within the movie that'll take you to other movies. So the film, what you're seeing, is just a base layer film. There'll be three or four other sub films." [5]
On Metacritic, the film holds an average score of 36 out of 100 based on reviews from 8 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [6]
Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a mixed review, writing "though little more than a gimmick, the baby angle gives Korine a hook for an experiment that’s only intermittently engaging for much of its running time." [7]
Ken Park is a 2002 erotic drama film directed by Larry Clark and Edward Lachman. Set in the city of Visalia, California, it revolves around the abusive and dysfunctional lives of four teenagers following the suicide of their mutual acquaintance, the eponymous Ken Park. It was written by Harmony Korine, who based it on Clark's journals and stories. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 10, 2002, but not been officially shown in the United States since. It was also banned in Australia due to its content.
Kids is a 1995 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Larry Clark in his directorial debut and written by Harmony Korine in his screenwriting debut. It stars Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloë Sevigny, and Rosario Dawson, all in their film debuts. Fitzpatrick, Pierce, Sevigny, Dawson, and other newcomers portray a group of teenagers in New York City. They are characterized as hedonists, who engage in sexual acts and substance abuse, over the course of a single day.
Harmony Korine is an American filmmaker, actor, photographer, artist, and author. His methods feature an erratic, loose and transgressive aesthetic, exploring taboo themes and incorporating experimental techniques, and works with art, music, fashion and advertising.
Julien Donkey-Boy is a 1999 American experimental drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine. The story concentrates on Julien, a man with schizophrenia, played by Scottish actor Ewen Bremner, and his dysfunctional family. The film also stars Chloë Sevigny as Julien's sister, Pearl, and Werner Herzog as his father. Julien Donkey-Boy was the sixth film to be made under the self-imposed rules of the Dogme 95 manifesto, and the first non-European film to be made under the Dogme 95 "vow of chastity".
Gummo is a 1997 American experimental drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine, and stars Linda Manz, Max Perlich, Jacob Reynolds, Chloë Sevigny, Jacob Sewell, and Nick Sutton. The film is set in Xenia, Ohio, a Midwestern American town that had been previously struck by a devastating tornado. The loose narrative follows several main characters who find odd and destructive ways to pass time, interrupted by vignettes depicting other inhabitants of the town.
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for Variety magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with Peter Debruge. Previously, Gleiberman wrote for Entertainment Weekly from 1990 until 2014. From 1981 to 1989, he wrote for The Phoenix.
William Emmanuel Bevan, known by his recording alias Burial, is a British electronic musician from South London. Initially remaining anonymous, Burial became the first artist signed to Kode9's electronic label Hyperdub in 2005. He won acclaim the following year for his self-titled debut album, an influential release in the UK's dubstep scene which showcased a dark, emotive take on UK rave music styles such as UK garage and 2-step; it was named the album of the year by The Wire. Burial's second album, Untrue, was released to further critical acclaim in 2007.
Mister Lonely is a 2007 comedy drama film directed by Harmony Korine and co-written with his brother Avi Korine. It features an ensemble cast of international actors, including Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant, Werner Herzog, James Fox, Anita Pallenberg and Leos Carax. The film follows a Michael Jackson look-alike joining a commune filled with other impersonators as they build a stage to attract people to see them perform. Mister Lonely garnered mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb, grossing $393,813 against an $8.2 million budget.
Trash Humpers is a 2009 American black comedy film written and directed by Harmony Korine. Shot on worn VHS home video, the film features a "loser-gang cult-freak collective" engaging in bizarre and destructive behavior on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee.
Fight Harm is an abandoned project by Harmony Korine filmed in 1999. The premise was to verbally provoke passers-by into a fight. The rules were Korine couldn't throw the first punch and the person confronted had to be bigger than Korine. To Korine, Fight Harm was high-comedy reminiscent of Buster Keaton. "I wanted to push humour to extreme limits to demonstrate that there's a tragic component in everything." Filmed in New York, the project was abandoned following the injuries and arrests Korine faced while shooting.
Spring Breakers is a 2012 American crime comedy film written and directed by Harmony Korine and starring James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, and Gucci Mane. Gomez, Hudgens, Benson, and Korine portray four college-aged girls who go on spring break in St. Petersburg, Florida and meet an eccentric local drug dealer (Franco) who helps them in a time of desperation, and their eventual descent into a world of drugs, crime, and violence.
Rachel Korine is an American former actress. Married to director Harmony Korine, she is best known for starring as Cotty in his 2013 crime film Spring Breakers as well as Betsy in Men Go to Battle (2015), and Junia in The Knick (2014–2015).
Manglehorn is a 2014 American drama film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Paul Logan. The film stars Al Pacino, Holly Hunter, Harmony Korine, and Chris Messina. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. The film was released in theaters by IFC Films on June 19, 2015.
The Beach Bum is a 2019 American stoner comedy film written and directed by Harmony Korine and starring Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher, Jimmy Buffett in his final feature film, Zac Efron and Martin Lawrence. The plot follows the adventures of stoner poet Moondog (McConaughey) in and around the Florida Keys as he tries to finish his new novel and fight for the respect of his daughter and his share of his wife's estate after she dies in a car accident.
Disclaimer is a psychological thriller miniseries written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Renée Knight. It stars Cate Blanchett as a journalist and documentarian. The supporting cast includes Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Louis Partridge, and Lesley Manville.
Aggro Dr1ft is a 2023 American experimental action crime film written and directed by Harmony Korine and starring Jordi Mollà and Travis Scott. Its plot follows an assassin on a mission to kill a demonic crime lord. The film is presented entirely in infrared photography.
Spring Breakers (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 2012 film Spring Breakers, released through Big Beat Records and Warner Records on March 19, 2013. The album consisted of an original score jointly composed by Skrillex and Cliff Martinez along with songs from electronic dance and southern hip hop artists.
EDGLRD is an American creative and technology company founded in 2023 by filmmaker Harmony Korine.
September 5 is a 2024 historical drama film co-written and directed by Tim Fehlbaum. The film recounts the 1972 Munich Olympic hostage crisis from the perspective of the ABC Sports crew and their coverage of the events.