Complete with seedy strip clubs, loaded handguns, and violent run-ins with an international street gang, The Weeknd’s newest video is a nearly seven-minute montage straight out of an old action movie. A nightmarish fusion of horror and romance, the video’s nostalgic mimicry of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is as captivating as it is imaginative. Dizzying special effects make it more of an electrifying experience than the average R&B video.
“In The Night” is a nod to 1980s-era cinematography where harsh neon lights and fade transitions abound. However, the video’s grainy footage and shaky camerawork capture the trippy vibe it set out to emulate. Viewers couldn’t keep up with the fast-motion scenes if they tried, but the overwhelming artistry of the video keeps all eyes focused intently on the high-energy spectacle unfolding on-screen.
Supermodel Bella Hadid plays a scantily clad femme fatale who weaponizes her mastery of seduction to defeat the bad guys. The heroine, though clearly sexualized for the majority of the long video, is not just a pretty face. Sure, most of her screen time consists solely of close-up camera shots her body. But a later scene in which she shanks a villain without breaking a sweat reveals that she sure knows how to use a knife.
The video’s fast pace matches the song’s tempo perfectly, and the drama-laden scenes mixed with The Weeknd’s signature vocals leave viewers feeling as though they’ve been transported into the suspenseful action scenes by the end of the seven-minute spectacle.
Like virtually everything from the 1980s, the video seems incredibly overdone. The murder scenes contain far too much fake blood for anyone’s liking, and the random rose petals pictured throughout the video are way too cheesy to overlook. In spite of these elements, The Weeknd delivers a refreshing take on the modern music video.
By going back a few decades to a time when erotica was all the rage and films of the day assaulted viewers with action, dizzying footage, and overly dramatic action plots, The Weeknd treats fans to a hefty dose of nostalgia with his new video for “In The Night.”
