The Weeknd Is Battered and Bloody in New 'After Hours' Short Film

In the The Weeknd‘s new After Hours short film, the narrative picks up where his recent “Blinding Lights” performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! left off, smiling in front of the studio crowd and continuing his bloody and battered aesthetic from the past few visual offerings. The emotional performance goes from the global pop superstar smiling wide after a standing ovation from the Kimmel crowd to an immediate grimace as he walks through the backstage tunnel to exit into the dimly lit streets.

The project may share the same name as Martin Scorsese’s After Hours film, but the opening is more King of Comedy, projecting the art of a skilled performer while hiding the painful loneliness that lingers deep down. The Anton Tammi-directed and Oliver Millar-photographed effort has some Safdie Brothers Uncut Gems influence oozing through the stylized, grainy cinematography. The video then takes a surprising turn once an unseen force begins to pull at The Weeknd.

The After Hours short follows the chaos found in both the “Blinding Lights” and Hunter S. Thompson-esque “Heartless” music videos, all leading up to the recently released title track in the “After Hours” single. Throughout the process, The Weeknd has starred in the Mercedes-Benz EQC Campaign film to introduce a few singles along the way. His After Hours Tour featuring Don Toliver, 88GLAM and Sabrina Claudio begins this June and runs all the way through November with stops all over North America and Europe.

Watch the full short above and stay tuned for After Hours to release March 20 via XO Records/Republic Records. In more music news, Lil Uzi Vert recently was abducted by a UFO cult for the official Eternal Atake album trailer.