The Weeknd and Doja Cat’s “In Your Eyes” remix gets a trippy, animated video courtesy of director Jeron Braxton. Playing off the seedy, hedonistic themes of The Weeknd’s album After Hours, the video finds Abel’s digital avatar — complete with the bloodied nose bandage, red suit, and sunglasses that have marked the loose storyline of the album’s visual complements — roaming a psychedelic cityscape, where Doja appears as a holographic billboard character, a la Blade Runner 2049.
Throughout the video, the city’s decadent nature can be seen in its constantly-flashing advertisements for “Endless Consumption” and soda machines that dispense products such as “Cocaine” — a riff on Coca-Cola, which incidentally used to actually include the drug as one of its ingredients — and “Peyote,” which bears the familiar logo of the Pepsi Cola. There are also some not-so-references to the current political climate, with a burning police car bearing the signet “KKKPD” and leering, chain-bearing silhouettes in the back of The Weeknd’s car making pointed reference to both the prison-industrial complex and the conspicuous materialism that plays its part in feeding that particular beast.
Like The Weeknd’s music, the “In Your Eyes” video hides some dark messaging in the colorful setting, proving that the concept for After Hours works just fine in quarantine, too. Abel may not be able to shoot more companion videos for the album at the moment, but on the bright side: at least no one else is beating him up.
Watch The Weeknd’s “In Your Eyes” video featuring Doja Cat above.