The underrated first-person action film of 2015 amazes VFX artists

Almost a decade after the film first hit theaters, Hardcore Henry has found new fans in the artists of Corridor Crew. The 2015 action film revolves around the title character fighting his way through endless hordes of enemies in the hopes of saving his wife, a scientist who resurrected him with cybernetic prosthetics that gave him an advantage over them all. Produced by Wantedby Timu Bekmambetov directed by No oneDirected by Ilya Naishuller in his feature film debut, the film received mixed reviews, although its first-person format was met with rave reviews.

In the latest episode of Corridor Crews “VFX Artists React” Niko, Jordan and Wren took a look back at Hardcore Henry.

In the segment, as seen above, the group of VFX artists are immediately excited to revisit the film’s highway chase scene, praising the seamless blend of CGI and practical effects used for the explosive scene. The trio go on to praise how the film captures its first-person perspective, and lament the fact that it has the “the first and the last of its kind“.

The action genre fails to copy Hardcore Henry

Although it was not the first of its kind, the found footage genre often takes a similar perspective, and in 1947 Lady in the Lake was the first film to do this, Hardcore Henry is the only action film that uses the first-person perspective throughout its entire running time. The 2005 film starring Karl Urban Downfall The film had a first-person sequence as a nod to the game series of the same name, which proved to be one of the few highlights for critics and audiences. The only other major example of a film shot entirely from a first-person perspective was the 2012 Elijah Wood-directed remake of the controversial horror cult classic Insane.

Given Hardcore Henry was not a critics’ darling and did not perform well at the box office. Naishuller has ruled out the possibility of a sequel in the past. But even if there won’t be a direct follow-up to the 2015 film, the action genre as a whole seems to be missing a huge opportunity by not replicating its format. Hardcore Henry was produced on a production budget of only $2 million, and many other action films proved to be hits with smaller budgets, such as Dev Patel’s Monkey Man and Naishuller’s No onethe time is right to try the experiment again.

Beyond the way Naishuller has put the format together, the action genre could also benefit from Hardcore Henry by addressing the issues critics had with the film, particularly the disappointing story and characters. The 2015 film plays like a video game, putting more emphasis on setting up the exciting action. However, if you want to offer a richer narrative and characters that audiences can connect with on a deeper level, the first-person perspective might be the best way to reinvent the genre in a world where virtual reality is becoming increasingly important.

Source: Corridor Crew

Hardcore Henry

Hardcore Henry is a 2015 action film shot entirely from a first-person perspective. Audiences experience the story through the eyes of the titular cyborg Henry, who embarks on a journey through the streets of Moscow to rescue his wife from a powerful warlord and restore his identity after his memory is erased.

director

Ilya Naischuller

Release date

8 April 2016

Authors

Will Stewart, Ilya Naishuller

Pour

Oleg Poddubnyy, Haley Bennett, Darya Charusha, Danila Kozlovsky, Tim Roth, Svetlana Ustinova, Sharlto Copley, Andrei Dementiev

Duration

96 mins

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