AGGRO DR1FT. Welcome to Hell

If you are looking for consolation or answers to the meaning of life in cinema, you’ve come to the wrong place. Harmony Korine is a director of audacious experiments and excesses, eagerly wallowing in American muck (“Gummo”), exploring the boundaries of cinematic nihilism (“Trash Humpers”), and reworking pop-cultural clichés into a spectacle of nonsense – which, paradoxically, makes a lot of sense (“Spring Breakers”). The golden child of American arthouse is now over fifty, but with “Aggro Dr1ft,” he proves he still has boundless rebellious energy: he adds new transgressions to his colorful biography and embarks on a wild journey through the uncharted territories of cinema.

Korine’s latest project is a grand spectacle made from nothing, a true trip where Gaspar Noé‘s drug trips may seem tame and rational in comparison. What exactly is “Aggro Dr1ft”: a film or a game, reality or a dream, a surreal story about a gangster’s conscience or a genuine broadcast from hell?

In interviews, the director says he no longer watches films because they all look the same. He is more inspired by games and new technologies, which he uses to push beyond the previously established boundaries of visual arts. “Aggro Dr1ft” was meant to be more than an ordinary film – an immersive, sensory experience. I can wholeheartedly confirm that this goal has been exceeded.

Despite many deviations from the norm, Korine retains the basic elements of a cinematic story: “Aggro Dr1ft” even has a plot, although paying special attention to it would be a waste of time – it is definitely not the most important thing here. Suffice it to say that everything revolves around a hitman, his sexy wife, a dangerous gangster, and his sexy slaves. Occasionally, winged fiery demons appear in the background. The hitman has many thoughts but ultimately reaches for a gun and kills; he cannot help himself because killing is addictive. “Aggro Dr1ft” is another installment of Korine’s story about violence – disgusting, yet in some way dangerously alluring.

From a story that sounds like the beginning of a new Patryk Vega film, Korine molds a top-notch audiovisual odyssey. The entire 80 minutes were shot with thermal imaging cameras, then special effects experts and artificial intelligence took over. The final effect is simply astounding. The screen pulses with a riot of colors, and the speakers assault with an uninterrupted series of sharp sounds. The surreal formula makes the over-the-top violence not terrifying but captivating, compelling you to watch and participate in this endless madness, like the most addictive game in the world. Korine’s sick imagination can fortunately be watched with unfeigned pleasure because the whole thing is drenched in self-aware absurdity.

If there is a film at this year’s New Horizons that puts everything on the line, tests viewers’ endurance, and tries to chart new paths for cinema, it is “Aggro Dr1ft.” Korine draws heavily from contemporary pop culture (even casting Travis Scott in one role) and creates a kind of funeral collage from its codes; the most nightmarish mix one can imagine. This does not mean that his film is bad. On the contrary: “Aggro Dr1ft” powerfully reminds us that things found in the pop-cultural junkyard can be made into a stunning audiovisual spectacle. It is a triumph of cinema in its purest form – a victory of images and sounds so electrifying that you don’t even think about what you see and hear; you simply surrender to them and flow with them into the unknown. Who knows – perhaps towards a completely new form of cinema?