Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd needs no introduction. The "Blinding Lights" hitmaker recently dropped his fifth studio album Dawn FM, which is being praised for its call back to '80s music and cinematic narrative. In fact, The Weeknd's dark songs on love and lust have carried strong cinematic overtones right from his early career.
Be it in his music videos or his lyrics, he has also referenced several movies and pop culture characters. The Weeknd's fans can similarly check out some iconic movies and documentaries that offer similar narratives as the self-destructive themes that engulf The Weeknd's discography.
Leaving Las Vegas (1995) - Stream On Pluto TV
A washed-out screenwriter loses everything that he has due to alcoholism. Planning to drink himself to death in Las Vegas, he befriends a sex worker and tries to take another shot at his tumultuous life.
Self-destruction plays a key role in Leaving Las Vegas, one of Nicolas Cage's best movies. Just like The Weeknd's troubled personas on albums like Beauty Behind The Madness and After Hours, Cage's Ben Sanderson loses himself in the glitz and glamor of showbiz and gambling. He then goes on to have a passionate yet toxic romance with Elisabeth Shue's Sera. The Weeknd's songs thankfully never go to the extent of self-harm like Ben, but they serve as a warning sign surrounding the downward spiral one can fall into in the face of substance abuse and loneliness.
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017) - Stream On Netflix
Even though Jim Carrey is known for entertaining his audiences with his hilarious antics, he has had his intense phases of morbidity. The Netflix documentary Jim & Andy offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Carrey's preparation for the role of infamous comedian Andy Kaufman and the movie Man on the Moon.
For the sake of method acting and to connect with the character, Carrey went to the "great beyond," where it became difficult to distinguish the character from the actor. Fans of Weeknd's new album, Dawn FM, will already be familiar with Carrey, as the actor plays the role of the radio jockey on its titular radio station. If audiences want a deeper glimpse into Carrey's psyche, Jim & Andy will make for an eye-opening watch.
Constantine (2005) - Stream On HBO Max
Plagued by his journey into a hellish afterlife, demon-hunter John Constantine returns to the human world for some unfinished business. This is what forms the basic premise of Constantine, an adaptation of the famous Hellblazer comic issues from DC. Even though Constantine is vastly different from its source material, the neo-noir still has its dedicated fanbase.
The troubled protagonist and his tryst with demonic creatures are reminiscent of The Weeknd's videos in his Beauty Behind The Madness era. This is particularly true when looking at glam rocker Rick Wilder, who appears in three videos from the album ("Tell Your Friends", "I Can't Feel My Face", "The Hills"). His mysterious character has been compared to the devil by some, as mentioned on Pitchfork, and this isn't surprising given the Canadian singer's fascination with the afterlife. This fascination continues with Dawn FM, which plays out as a visit to purgatory. If this wasn't enough, a line from After Hours' "Escape From LA" also goes like, "I'm fighting for my soul, Constantine."
The Show (2021) - Stream On Showtime
The Weeknd's 2021 performance at the Superbowl Halftime Show lasted for 12 minutes, but it was a feat in itself. Setting himself apart from other halftime performers of the past, The Weeknd remained in his After Hours avatar, donning the iconic red suit and singing some of his best chart-topping hits. At one point, he was even surrounded by his own doubles with faces wrapped in bandages. Such elements made his performance a cinematic experience.
Produced by Jay-Z, The Show takes a behind-the-scenes look at what went down to craft the performance. As The Weeknd has hardly released any documentaries or TV specials, The Show is a rare offering and a must-watch for the singer's fans.
Joker (2019) - Stream On HBO Max
One of 2019's biggest box-office hits, Joker is the story of a troubled man and the chaos that ensues when society rejects him. While the Batman comic book villain's lore has been adapted several times, Joker offered a realistic take on the character, showcasing the character's grey areas.
The Weeknd's songs in After Hours brim with a chaotic energy that is reminiscent of the tonal shifts and musical choices of Joker's second half. Even the artist's dancing throughout the album's promotion is reminiscent of Phoenix's acting. The songs of After Hours paint a sad picture and yet The Weeknd keeps on dancing and smiling in an intoxicated state (as can be seen in the videos for "Heartless" and "Blinding Lights"). This characterization is eerily similar to that of the sad clown trope in Joker.
Quincy (2018) - Stream On Netflix
Directed by his own daughter, Rashida Jones, the legendary music producer Quincy Jones is the life and soul of this music documentary streaming on Netflix. Through a biographical look at his past and with interviews of friends and collaborators, Quincy shows how he succeeded as the creative genius behind artists like Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.
The Weeknd has never shied away from his respect for Quincy Jones, with the producer even delivering the monologue "Quincy's Tale" on Dawn FM. Michael Jackson has also been a constant inspiration for The Weeknd, so it's important for his fans to also know the story of the man who crafted Jackson's early hits.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) - Stream On Kanopy
After his wife seems to have sexual feelings for another man, a disgruntled doctor desperately seeks to have an extramarital sexual encounter himself. This leads him down a dark rabbit hole that involves a mysterious cult.
The core themes in Stanley Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut include adultery and lust. It's common knowledge that The Weeknd's music discusses both ideas in multiple interpretations. Through different mediums, Kubrick and Weeknd end up showing how fragile and unstable the human mind can be in the face of sexual desire.
After Hours (1986) - Stream On Vudu
An underrated Martin Scorsese movie that everyone seems to forget about is After Hours. The dark comedy takes place in the course of one night as an average New Yorker goes on an ill-fated date. Facing one bizarre circumstance after the other, his night turns into an adventure that he didn't bargain for.
Apart from the movie's title, the chaotic nighttime setting is what is reminiscent of the album After Hours and other works by The Weeknd. The darkness of the night is a recurring theme in his music and most of his music is suited for the late hours when people end up making wrong decisions at the wrong time.
Shame (2011) - Stream On DirecTV
Shame is the tragic tale of a rich businessman who seems to have a perfect life on the surface. But deep down, he harbors an unhealthy addiction to pornography and sex, which eventually leads to self-destructive tendencies.
In an unfortunate sense, parallels can be drawn between Shame and The Weeknd's discography. From his early songs onwards, the singer has revealed how a sexually promiscuous lifestyle helped cure his solitude but also negatively affected his mental state.
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998) - Stream On Vudu
Based on gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's psychedelic journey in Las Vegas, this Terry Gilliam movie leaves no stone unturned in painting a surreal, drug-fueled experience. Thompson's misadventures while covering a Vegas motor race are both amusing and scary at the same time.
The Weeknd's video for "Heartless" has some very obvious visual references to Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, with him and Metro Boomin replacing Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro's characters. Thematically too, the movie is reminiscent of Weeknd's drug confessions. Right from Kiss Land to After Hours, the singer has admitted that a dependency on substances contributed to both his happiness and subsequent melancholia.