TikTok Lens Draws Attention to Yorgos Lanthimos’ Controversial Film

Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest picture, Kinds of Kindness, is a thought-provoking yet unsettling film that explores unconventional topics. Despite its provocative subject matter, the film has released a TikTok lens to promote the movie and engage with fans.

The lens allows users to recreate the movie posters by transposing an abnormally large face onto a normal-sized body. To enhance the experience, users can pair the filter with the film’s opening song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurythmics or the soundtrack to Emma Stone’s iconic dance sequence “Brand New Bitch” by COBRAH. The lens has been used four times on the platform so far.

Kinds of Kindness joins Inside Out 2, which is on track to be the highest-grossing film of 2024, in using TikTok lenses to draw attention to the films. The Inside Out 2 lens randomly assigns users one of the emotions from the film: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust, Envy, Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, or Nostalgia.

The film features a talented cast, including Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Jesse Plemmons, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Schafer. Robert Daniels from Mashable described the film as “prickly, dark” and a return to Lanthimos’ unconventional roots, similar to his older films like Kinetta and Dogtooth.

Despite the film’s efforts to create a buzz on TikTok, it remains to be seen if it can recreate the digital culture moment that was Barbenheimer this summer. Nonetheless, the lens is an innovative way to engage with fans and generate interest in the film.