We Survived ‘Baby Invasion’: Inside Harmony Korine’s Insane Experimental Film That Earned an 8.5-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice

Midnight screenings rarely come more fitting than “Baby Invasion,” Harmony Korine‘s latest experimental, unconventional and video game-like assault on the senses, which had its world premiere on Saturday night in Venice to an 8.5-minute standing ovation.

The film served up a provocative array of unique visuals: We saw our heavily armed, baby-faced criminals torturing people, dancing to Burial’s thumping techno score, chopping up huge piles of coke and giving the finger while sitting on the toilet.

Whatever it is we witnessed, the crowd seemed to lap it up. Once the hour and 20 minute movie wrapped, cheers erupted from the audience as Korine danced to the beat that soundtracked the credits. And it didn’t stop there: fans erupted into a chant of “Harmony! Harmony! Harmony!” as the director waved his arms as if to say, “More! More! More!”

At one point in the film, one of the many thousands of Twitch-style comments appearing in rapid fire on the left of the screen read “this plot deserves an Oscar.” While there are many things “Baby Invasion” deserves, an Oscar for its plot is probably not one of them.

Beyond its first-person shooter visuals, much of this “plot” was communicated through voiceover, which Korine said at a press conference was done by an ASMR aficionado he found on OnlyFans. A white rabbit was a central figure in the words spoken — perhaps a metaphor for the rich people the baby invaders were robbing, or a sign of good luck as they raided their way through mansions and yachts in Florida.

Last year, Korine left audiences on the Lido in a state of shock and awe — and prompted several to walk out — with “Aggro Dr1ft,” shot entirely in infrared and featuring twerking strippers and demonic crime lords shouting: “Dance, bitch!”

But with his new wild “post cinema” offering “Baby Invasion,” the midnight must-see (for those who dared or, more to the point, could get a ticket) in 2024 was all about babies. More specifically, a group of mercenaries disguised with baby faces who invade mansions of the wealthy and powerful.

Once again playing out like first-person shooter, the film was made using AI and video game engines, and features a score by Burial.

“‘Baby Invasion’ is a new ultra-realistic, multiplayer FPS game following a group of mercenaries using baby faces as avatars to conceal their identity,” reads the official synopsis. “Tasked with entering mansions of the rich and powerful and leaving nothing behind, players must explore every rabbit hole before time runs out.”

The standing ovation for “Baby Invasion” may not have matched that of “Aggro Dr1ft” in 2023, which topped 10 minutes, making it — unofficially, at least — the festival’s longest. But that film’s excessive applause may have had something to do with its star, rapper Travis Scott, making his first major film role.

Korine has been coming to Venice since his early years as a filmmaking, screening his directorial debut, “Gummo,” at the fest in 1997. The film was not well received by critics at first, but later won a special mention from Venice’s FIPRESCI jury. “Spring Breakers” also had its world premiere at Venice in 2012, where it received the Future Film Festival Digital Award.