Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Jul 21
Neill Blomkamp Releases 13-Minute AI Horror Short, Eyes Full Feature With Seedance 2.0
Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Jul 21

Neill Blomkamp Releases 13-Minute AI Horror Short, Eyes Full Feature With Seedance 2.0

3 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · Jul 21

Summary

  • Neill Blomkamp posted “Nightborne” on X on July 19, calling the 13-minute clip his first “full test AI film” and a step toward making a full feature in the format.
  • Seedance 2.0 generated the horror short, which follows a U.S. soldier turned into a zombie weapon after a helicopter shootdown under a black-ops program called Project Nightborne.
  • Barley Studios appears to be the vehicle for that push into AI filmmaking, extending Blomkamp’s recent public testing of generative video after roughly two years of experimentation.
  • Reaction centered less on the technology than the result, with critics describing the film as visually plausible at first glance but emotionally flat, with stiff dialogue and little artistic value.

Insights

What are the hidden environmental and ethical costs behind a 13-minute AI-generated film?
Why did a top AI tool, praised for consistency, deliver a visually flawed and 'creatively bankrupt' film?
As AI enters Hollywood, does it threaten to replace human creativity or just expose its absence?