The final countdown to the A.I. apocalypse is ticking.
The science fiction thriller Hot Spot paints a future A.I.-run world as a desert hellscape full of authoritarianism, surveillance, violence – and ‘80s arena rock.
The protagonist, Djonny (Andrzej Konopka), is a mullet-sporting detective traipsing through desolate scenes of violence all to the tune of the cheesiest hits from the Reagan era.
Courtesy of Travis Topa
He teams up with a cyberwitch, Rana (Noomi Rapace), who leads a group of tech refugees, to solve a brutal murder. Rana is a brooding outsider with preternatural tech acumen who helps solve crimes. Sound familiar? The similarities between Rana and Lisbeth Salander (whom Rapace plays in the Swedish adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) did not go unnoticed.
The Knockturnal spoke to director Agnieszka Smoczynska and Rapace and Konopka about the music and thematic connections with Steig Larsson’s iconic hacker character.
“It was the moment when the character was born,” Smoczynska said, referring to when the detective walks out to “The Final Countdown” by Europe. “Because until this moment the character was a normal detective and we couldn’t go further. We couldn’t [capture] the tone of the movie.” She added that the song is “the heart of the character.”
The needle drops call to mind the decade of poofy hair and tight jeans but when Rapace’s character comes on screen the annals of dark, isolated heroines come to mind. Namely, Lisbeth Salander.
“There will always be a dose of me in all of [my characters]. There was a lot of me in Lisbeth, being an outsider. Having a lot of rage, looking at the world around you with a very critical eye and not trusting anyone and being against the world. That was me when I was younger. That kind of rebellious fearless ‘I’m going to go against you all and prove you wrong.’ That’s what Lisbeth and Rana have in common,” said Rapace.
Courtesy of Travis Topa
While playing Rana she also thought of her lead role in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. She said, “There’s a bit of Elizbath Shaw in Prometheus. Someone seeking answers above and below. What is more to it? Where does everything start? What are we? What is it to be human?”
Hot Spot is currently in theaters.
