Hardcore Henry is an action-adventure film shot entirely in first-person, using a GoPro camera rig. The effect is that of a video game in which we, the audience, play Henry—a silent but powerful protagonist. Given the overall feel of the title, it’s no surprise that STX Entertainment has unleashed the awesome marketing power of video game fans, for which punching, shooting and tossing grenades is all in a day’s work.
The first Hardcore Henry trailer debuted exclusively during a two-hour event on Twitch, and was watched by over one million fans. YouTube views across all trailers have exceeded 28 million.
The STX marketing team has since partnered with game developer, Starbreeze Studios, to drop Hardcore Henry‘s on-screen ally, Jimmy, into their video game, Payday 2. “Coke Jimmy,” portrayed in the film by Sharlto Copley, is now a playable character with two new heists created just for him: Hardcore: The Boiling Point Heist and Hardcore: The Murky Station Heist.
While video game adaptation films like Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed advertise to a broader audience, video game fans are an obvious choice for Hardcore Henry marketing, tapping into a $91.95 billion market primed by first-person games like Call of Duty and Halo. STX even hosted a GoPro camera giveaway promotion, tapping into another obvious demographic choice for the film.
Directed by Russian filmmaker, Ilya Naishuller, Hardcore Henry (originally titled just Hardcore) was successfully crowdfunded on Indiegogo in 2014. The film is experimental in itself, utilizing a custom, over-the-face GoPro camera rig and carefully choreographed stunts. After a well-received showing at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015, STX Entertainment picked up the worldwide rights to the film for $10 million.
Armed with rave reviews from critics and attendees of SXSW, Hardcore Henry, the world’s first feature-length, entirely-POV motion picture, explodes into theaters worldwide on April 8.
