Harmony Korine’s Baby Invasion Is Available Now, Baby
For the past few months, we’ve been watching a fascinating cinematic experiment unfold: movies that fully commit to the first-person perspective. RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys and Steven Soderbergh’s Presence both immerse us in the worldview of a single character, pushing boundaries in ways that feel like a natural evolution of our GoPro- and video game-saturated visual culture. Now, Harmony Korine, never one to shy away from provocation, has taken that concept, strapped it to a rocket launcher, and pointed it squarely at the audience with Baby Invasion—a film that turns the entire experience into a first-person shooter fever dream.
Korine, best known for Gummo and Spring Breakers, has always played the part of cinematic provocateur, and at 52, he’s still going strong. His latest venture with EDGLRD, his vaguely defined creative company, has already delivered Aggro Dr1ft, a neon-soaked crime flick shot entirely in infrared. But with Baby Invasion, he pushes even further into the realm of hyper-stylized digital chaos. Structured like a multiplayer shooter game, the film follows players—represented by uncanny babyface AI avatars—on a murder spree that might be virtual, or might be something much worse. If that doesn’t sound aggressively abrasive enough, it’s all set to a score from Burial, the famously elusive electronic musician known for his rain-drenched, melancholic soundscapes.
The Baby Invasion trailer is packed with music, but it’s hard to say if it’s Burial’s work. If it is, he’s not in his usual mode. In recent years, Burial has been toying with old-school rave aesthetics, and while some of those textures seem present, the trailer’s soundtrack leans heavily into generic, pulse-pounding video game aggression. Maybe that’s intentional—Korine has always reveled in subverting expectations, and maybe that's what he's up to by pairing a high-art electronic artist with what sounds like menu-screen battle music. According to Korine, he and Burial never actually met, instead communicating entirely through Discord, with Burial sending over the score via PS5. Because of course he did.
Baby Invasion is a singular trip. Whether it’s an incisive commentary on gaming culture, an exhausting exercise in maximalist chaos, or some mixture of the two depends on who you ask. The film (or whatever it is) is available on VOD for a $5.99 rental. Check out the trailer below.
