“First 95-minute AI movie” with skateboards, demons and plenty of online criticism

For film and TV fans, the idea that human actors could increasingly be replaced by artificial intelligence may still feel strange. Hell Grind, an action film by Higgsfield AI, offers a glimpse of what a live-action film created entirely with AI might look and feel like. The US-based AI company is marketing the project as a showcase for its own AI video platform.

According to Higgsfield AI, the film was created by a small team in just two weeks on a budget of only $500,000. On Instagram, it is being promoted as the “first 95-minute AI movie”. The project was made using Seedance 2.0, the AI video model from TikTok parent company ByteDance, which Higgsfield AI offers through its own website.

The plot sounds fairly absurd, but also like something that can be realized relatively easily with artificial intelligence: four skateboarding teens who grew up as orphans are drawn into a fight against an interdimensional demonic threat. There is plenty of action and visual spectacle. On Reddit and YouTube, however, early reactions have been mostly negative.

Some viewers acknowledge that the technology has improved and that the consistency of characters and settings is impressive. However, most reactions to the film itself are critical. Viewers criticize its artificial look, choppy editing, weak story and lack of emotional depth. As a film, Hell Grind has hardly convinced so far; as an AI demo, however, it works considerably better.

Only the first 20 minutes online so far; Episode 2 unavailable despite registration

Hell Grind cannot currently be watched in full. Higgsfield is releasing the project in episodes, which calls its marketing as the “first 95-minute AI movie” into question. In practice, it currently feels more like a mini-series. Episode 1 is around 22 minutes long and can be watched on YouTube and on the official Higgsfield website.

To access Episode 2, users are asked to register on the website. They also have to answer questions about what they want to use the service for, such as video or image editing. After registration, they are taken back to the series section, but Episode 2 is still not available. Instead, users can only enable a notification for when the next episode is released.