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In the first few scenes of Harmony Korine’s latest joint,Baby Invasion, we see on-screen text that reads “THIS IS NOT A MOVIE,” then “THIS IS A VIDEO GAME.” According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a video game is defined as “an electronic game in which players control images on a video screen.”
Baby InvasionReview
Under this definition,Baby Invasionis assuredly not a video game. Under Korine’s own definition, it is not a movie. (It is, fundamentally, a motion picture in that it comprises still images projected in sequence to create the illusion of motion, but does that constitute a “movie?”) That being said, however you wish to classify it, it is not a particularly enjoyable experience.
Baby Invasion takes the form of a first-person shooter following a group of mercenaries who use baby faces as avatars, entering the mansions of the rich and the powerful to rob and murder them. In other words, Harmony Korine records a bunch of people maneuvering multi-million-dollar South Florida homes and presents it as amovie…game… audiovisual work.
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This experience is bookended by false interviews with the game’s developer, explaining how the game was stolen and bastardized into something far more dangerous than was ever intended. Had Korine leaned into this throughout and explored the danger of violence in online culture, this could have been riveting. Instead, we get narration that’s vaguely poetic but generally meaningless.
However, despite this potential,Baby Invasionhas one fundamental flaw that keeps it from ever connecting: there is no antagonist. Given the work’s similarity to video games likeGrand Theft Auto, one would expect that the conflict would come from the characters’ brushes with the law or, at the very least, their victims fighting back. There’s a plot (or “mission,” if we want to acknowledge Korine’s request that this be seen as a video game), but not one that offers much excitement or combat. We only see the aftermath of gunshots and firefights — not the action itself.
The concept of the project is that the characters’ avatars have their faces replaced by babies with artificial intelligence. Korine might get a good-faith pass from the cinephile community for genuinely attempting to use AI as a meta-commentary, but the gimmick’s novelty wears off incredibly quickly. It’s funny for a few moments, but then the uglily shifting baby faces go through the point of the uncanny valley to being downright annoying.
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Baby Invasion’s other gimmick — its first-person cinematography — is more consistently successful. Korine has set out to emulate the visuals of a first-person shooter, albeit in a hyperreal way, and he succeeds. The camera work is often hypnotic, aided by a genuinely excellent electronic score by Burial.
There is certainly a way thatBaby Invasioncould have been compelling and cinematic, but Harmony Korine has self-proclaimedly not made a film. The experience of watching his latest work can be best compared to watching an 80-minute stream where the streamers aren’t playing the game but just goofing around with their friends. It’s an hour and 20 minutes of people walking around with guns, not doing anything of importance. It simply isn’t interesting.
At a certain point, one has to wonder if releasingBaby Invasionas a big-screen experience is merely a marketing tactic for Korine’s new counterculture company, EDGLRD. With all the close-ups of EDGLRD-branded clothes and the fact that he sold the demon masks fromAggro Dr1ftfor $1500 a pop, it probably won’t be long before we seeBaby Invasion-themed tie-in merch (and maybe even a tie-in game?) pop up.
IsBaby Invasionworth watching?
Indeed, while there was at least a point in Harmony Korine’s last experiment, it’s hard to find any purpose inBaby Invasion. Though the first 20 minutes show some promise, it soon becomes clear that there is no actual conflict or stakes to be found in the project, and as a result, it starts to feel tedious.
Baby Invasionplayed at the 2024 edition of Fantastic Fest, which runs September 19-26.
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Sean Boelman
Managing Editor for Film and TV
Articles Published :441
Sean is the Managing Editor for Film and Television, working to determine editorial strategy for the critics team. He has been on the FandomWire team since 2022.In addition to writing reviews himself, Sean helps match writers on the FandomWire team with assignments that best fit their interests and expertise.
