AI-powered ‘Baby Invasion’ game features unsettling infant faces

Harmony Korine’s latest project “Baby Invasion” pushes the boundaries between film and video games, marking a significant evolution in his experimental multimedia approach. The FPS game/film hybrid, created through his EDGLRD design collective, represents a growing trend of filmmakers using gaming engines and AI technology to challenge traditional cinematic formats. The project’s deliberately provocative aesthetic and disregard for audience expectations reinforces Korine’s position as one of contemporary art’s most divisive and boundary-pushing creators.

The big picture: “Baby Invasion” premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival as an ultra-realistic multiplayer FPS experience featuring mercenaries who use baby-faced avatars to conceal their identities.

• The project follows players entering “mansions of the rich and powerful” to “explore every rabbit hole before time runs out,” with a narrative that deliberately blurs the line between digital and physical reality.
• This release comes after Korine’s first EDGLRD project “Aggro Dr1ft,” which similarly debuted at Venice in 2023 as part of his ongoing exploration of technology-driven filmmaking.

What critics are saying: IndieWire film editor Ryan Lattanzio described “Baby Invasion” as a “disturbing and anti-audience movie” that purposefully challenges viewer expectations.

• Lattanzio noted the film’s “clear focus” is to make viewers “feel bad,” suggesting Korine has created “a movie for no one” that demonstrates “disregard for the audience.”
• The review characterizes the work as “sickeningly compelling” while acknowledging Korine’s approach as “gutsy” in its refusal to conform to audience expectations.

Behind the technology: Korine’s EDGLRD collective is developing films using gaming engines and advanced technologies that fundamentally challenge traditional linear storytelling.

• “We’re making films now in gaming engines and working on a movie now that takes place in your living room, or in your bedroom,” Korine told IndieWire, hinting at future projects that could further disrupt conventional formats.
• Korine describes his technological approach as creating “digital hypnosis or a tech drug,” positioning his work as sensory experiences designed to “wash over you” rather than traditional narrative films.

Why it matters: Korine’s experimental fusion of film, gaming technology, and AI represents a significant artistic attempt to explore what comes “after linear cinema” in an era of rapidly advancing digital tools.

• By prioritizing technological innovation and form-breaking over traditional audience satisfaction, Korine is positioning himself at the frontier of how digital media might evolve beyond conventional boundaries.
• The project exemplifies how established artists are leveraging gaming engines, VFX, and artificial intelligence to create immersive experiences that challenge the definition of cinema itself.