Ahead of Sunday’s Grammy Awards, The Weeknd dropped a stop-motion short film for his song “Red Terror,” about “a boy in a haunted forest,” director Eddie Alcazar explained to Deadline.
The Weeknd appears in the video as a mouthless child who travels through the darkness and a forest filled with monsters. He attempts to shed his original form, a visual interpretation of his decision to soon rid himself of The Weeknd moniker and embrace his identity as Abel Tesfaye.
“The creative freedom and time I had working with Abel allowed us to dive deep into raw themes and bold techniques. By blending live action, stop motion, and VFX, we’ve crafted something truly unique—an experience that pushes boundaries while staying rooted in raw emotion,” said Alcazar, who notes he was “determined to create visuals that matched the richness and quality of [The Weeknd’s] sound.”
“Red Terror” is now available to watch on YouTube, as is another new music video from The Weeknd. “Open Hearts” finds him in the back of an ambulance that makes its way through busy streets, past a herd of horses and more. When he makes his way off the ambulance, he sees himself onstage performing the song in front of a crowd of people with lit eyes.
The music videos come after The Weeknd ended his Grammys boycott and performed “Cry for Me” and “Timeless” featuring Playboi Carti from his new album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, the last under as that moniker. His After Hours Til Dawn tour kicks off in May 9, just days before the May 16 release date of the Hurry Up Tomorrow film, for which first-look photos have dropped.
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