You are right to call me out. That track is crucial, and leaving it out completely misses the point about the subversive brilliance of the soundtrack. It’s not just the noise; it’s the calculated use of the quiet.
Here is the revised blog entry, incorporating “Down by The Water” and leveraging its unique role as a point of sharp contrast:
đź’Ą Hardcore Henry: How a Russian-British Cyborg Manifesto Nuked Hollywood
It all started with the“Bad Motherfucker” music video, but I didn’t know that when I saw Hardcore Henry…. I love these part where the character is doing James Bond-esque parkour from wing to wing on old Russian MIGs, but I digress…
Most of what passes for cinematic rebellion is just sanitized noise, a lukewarm reboot chasing market trends. But Ilya Naishuller’s Hardcore Henry is different. It’s the visual equivalent of a punk band smashing synths—it refines chaos, rejects comfort, and operates with a nihilistic intensity inherited from its ancestors. Where 80s synth-pop gave us the glamorous, dystopian futurism now epitomized by Blade Runner 2049, Hardcore Henry offers the same existential dread but stripped down and hyper-violent, trading Vangelis’s melancholic gloss for the pure, aggressive throttle of hardcore punk. This isn’t a movie; it’s a cultural hand grenade—a testament to the fact that, even in a world of doom scrolling and social media slop, genuine art can still be made.
The film’s philosophical thesis is that the world is cheap, absurd, and governed by chaos. Henry, the protagonist, is a mute, mindless cipher—a perfect vessel for the ultimate anti-hero. Since the movie is filmed in first person, strangely Henry isn’t even the main character. He’s complemented by Jimmy, who shows up on screen through his multiple disposable clones. They’re sort of a symbol that life is meaningless and identity is made-up and absurd, so why not sacrifice tit all for the sake of an arbitrary but particular objective? This isn’t the weak-kneed nihilism of a mopey teenager; this is the mature, intellectual rejection of value found in the best Russian literature, a true Assiduity to the God of War where self-preservation is traded for purpose. This deep philosophical undertone is what traditional Hollywood action movies—which always cling to some sentimental moral—simply lack.
While the story is targeted at English speakers, it’s set in Moscow, bringing a constant linguistic and aesthetic war to life. This cultural collision is precisely where the punk spirit finds its footing. Henry is relentlessly pursued by Russian-speaking henchmen and the English-speaking villain, Akan, while being guided by the distinctly British-accented Jimmy. This linguistic chaos—the mixing of Russian threats with English commands—mirrors the director’s hybrid brain and the film’s relentless action. The constant stream of Russian and English dialogue, mixed with Russian and English music creates a unique vibe that lends itself so well to the spirit of punk rock.
And, speaking of music… As the front-man of the band Biting Elbows, Naishuller uses music like a weapon, demanding a physiological response. The music is so good, yet I had never heard a single one of these songs. I felt mix of excitement for finding great, new music and shame for not being punk enough to know about any of this? Perhaps, this is yet another meta-story-line weaved into the movie? The soundtrack provides sonic whiplash: the kinetic pulse of Biting Elbows tracks like My Woman provides the immediate aggression with a touch of synth. This energy is then subverted by the emotional indie-pop of Down by The Water by The Drums, which plays during a rare moment of vulnerability in the brothel, forcing a brief, jarring emotional pause. And finally, modern Russian pop like Charusha (only 8720 followers on YouTube at the time of this writing), mixed with classic Russian synth-pop like Na Zare (At Dawn. This video is so amazing in and of itself, kind of a peak into 1987 Russia) used in the iconic slow-motion sequence, provides the ultimate statement of cultural and aesthetic irreverence. Even though these Russian songs appear to have been popular in their native markets, they’re virtually unknown to Anglo audiences. It makes them feel underground and punk in their own way.
The very genesis of Hardcore Henry is a testament to the DIY ethic dominating the capitalist mindset. Naishuller, leveraging the viral fame of his Biting Elbows music video, pitched the concept to veteran Russian director and producer Timur Bekmambetov (known for Wanted). Crucially, Sharlto Copley was also involved as an Executive Producer, providing invaluable creative and financial guidance to the experimental process. This partnership allowed the radical vision to be built not with a typical Hollywood blank check, but with the bare-bones financial commitment required for an experiment. The entire feature was brutalized into existence on a shocking production budget of just $2 million. This low cost is an essential part of the film’s punk philosophy; it proves you don’t need the bloated, risk-averse budgets of the establishment to create revolutionary art—you just need the assiduity to strap a GoPro camera to your actor’s head and keep shooting until the scene is soaked in blood, sweat, and defiance.
Hardcore Henry succeeds because it’s a perfectly aligned equation: philosophical nihilism + DIY production + physical sacrifice = ultimate artistic punk. It doesn’t ask for permission, it doesn’t apologize for its content, and it certainly doesn’t slow down for the uncommitted. It operates under its own harsh, self-imposed rules, and in doing so, it serves as a chaotic, violent monument to the raw, intellectual power of the genuinely rebellious spirit.
Is there another detail about the film or the punk movement you’d like to dissect?