During a screening in New York of Higgsfield AI’s “Hell Grind,” the fully AI-generated visuals briefly carried a real emotional punch—before glitches in acting and voice pulled viewers back to the uncanny reality. The project comes as SAG-AFTRA approves new co
Popcorn in one hand, he was supposed to be a character. But for a brief stretch in the middle of “Hell Grind,” a male lead named Roco looked at a photo of his recently kidnapped love interest and the moment landed with a kind of sincerity that felt startlingly human.
The sadness and yearning came through as he flashed back to memories of growing up together in an orphanage—an emotion that. for a few beats. didn’t feel like a trick. Then the film flipped. Mid-flashback. Roco and the AI-generated cast began laughing in an unnervingly synchronized fashion. eyes peeled wide open. and the spell broke.
The uncanny valley hit hard again later at a screening this week at New York’s Metro Private Cinema, where the popcorn crunch competed with the realization that the performances weren’t coming from people at all.
Higgsfield AI Hell Grind SAG-AFTRA synthetic performers generative AI film production computing costs Metro Private Cinema Hollywood action and sci-fi budgets independent filmmakers
So wait it glitched and then they laughed? That seems kinda creepy tbh.
I saw the headline and honestly I’m like… $500K for a movie that can’t even act. Also SAG-AFTRA approving “co popcorn”?? is that real or am I reading it wrong lol
The whole “briefly felt real” part is the scary thing. Like if it can nail sadness for a couple beats then why does it immediately turn into synchronized clown laughter. Makes me feel like they’re training it to trick people but not actually perform. Also the orphanage flashback sounds like something that would hit harder than it did, unless it’s just text-to-sadness.
Popcorn crunch in a theater and then realizing there aren’t real actors is such a wild vibe. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to feel—like cool tech or stupid money. And the SAG thing sounds like they’re letting AI replace everyone slowly, but then the article keeps saying glitches in voice and acting like it’s supposed to be a feature? lol.