The Weeknd 'After Hours' by Anton Tammi

Anton Tammi directs a hallucinatory short film for The Weeknd, to promote upcoming album After Hours. 

This begins as if in the aftermath of that inventive appearance on The Late Show, with The Weeknd soaking up the applause of a chatshow audience, with a fake smile plastered across his face, hauntingly artificial and unusual. But after the rush and highs of performing, the rest of the world feels empty and lifeless, and this gradual realisation parallels the disappointment he feels with everyday life. 

Things take a turn for the surreal inside a subway station, where he is dragged and tossed around like a ragdoll by an unknown force. Representing the darker and more unpredictable side of his personality, this climax builds to a frenetic and mesmerising finale, full of Gaspar Noé-style edits and acid trip aesthetics. 

DoP Oliver Millar crafts the light in a way that plunges The Weeknd into shadow for the majority of the visual, mirroring the darker aspects of the concept and the artist's mindset. The smooth tracking shots at the beginning are counterpointed with intense whip-pans and frantic camera movement later on in the video, which helps match the pace of the concept alongside the cacophony of creepy sound effects. 

* NOTE: this video has an Epilepsy Warning *