Diablo IV x Korn x Passion Pictures: 'A gruesome dive into the depths of hatred itself'

When the video game Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred launched last month, it arrived to the sound of power chords and growling lyrics courtesy of the nu-metal band Korn, along with terrifying animated sequences by Passion Paris Studio director Philippe Guyenne.

Answering a brief from the agency 72andSunny, the animators set out to produce something that would connect the intensity of Korn's music with the darkness of the latest Diablo game. "From the first draft of the script, Philippe and the Passion team proposed their vision: a gruesome dive into the depths of hatred itself," says producer Julien de Lestrange at Passion Paris.

What does this look like? Well, in the spot, you'll witness demonic possession, mass killing, the rise of evil and heroes from the video game world arriving to quash Mephisto's foothold in the earthly realm. The animators have crafted all the linework, lighting, framing and timing to aid the storytelling. But if you're planning to hit play, be warned… there's plenty of gore.

The 2D animation style is a nod to Korn's Freak on a Leash video back in 1998, but Philippe Guyenne's inspirations were varied – including Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings features, Argento's films Phenomena and Suspiria, Asian cinema, 90s anime, Soulages' paintings and comic book artists like Frank Miller and Mike Mignola.

"One of the core ideas was to embrace imperfection," says Philippe. "We used a gestural approach, textured brushwork, a loose style of rendering, then added grain and glitches in compositing. This touch of chaos and life mirrors both Korn's sound and Diablo's gritty universe."

Thus, the animated sequences feel very much like '80s fantasy as you watch, cut between live-action footage of Korn performing 'Reward the Scars'. It's a look that sits in juxtaposition with the game's graphics and key visuals, which are more detailed and defined. Mephisto is an icon of the Diablo game world, but Philippe and his team brought the demon to life by emphasising key aspects of his aesthetic in new ways.

"We tried to preserve key features from the canon – the horns, the crown, the overall silhouette and skull face – but reshaped them to fit our 2D language and animation constraints: sharp angles and angular shapes, heavy black shadows. As his face is a skull, stripped of exaggerated expressions, we were inspired by Japanese Kabuki theatre masks, where it's the shadow and angle that create the expression," says Philippe.

The setting is equally dramatic, inspired by the Gothic features of Sainte Chapelle in Paris and Chartres Cathedral. Early in the video, there is a sense of order with symmetrical forms, a steady orientation and soft glows. When the unholiness erupts, everything is warped by the chaos and killing, including the backdrop.

"The shadows take over, the colours shift to saturated reds and browns, framing becomes distorted, emphasising sharp angles and hard shadows. The visuals echo the fracturing of the characters' faith and the surge of chaos and corruption. In that regard, I think it's an expressionist approach, using lighting, composition and shapes as narrative devices," continues Philippe.

Thank heavens, then, for the arrival of the Paladin and Warlock characters, bathed in a blue light, a signal that the reign of bloodshed could be coming to an end. The line work switches back to something more controlled and refined, and everything curves now towards a conflict between good and evil, which presumably will be resolved when you play the game.

"We felt very lucky to be part of this, especially now, when the world is increasingly shaped by formulas and prompts. It was truly a blast to work on a beloved universe with so much creative freedom and trust," says Philippe.