Leigh Whannell Directs Bloodwerk’s Cinematic New Music Video

Filmmaker and screenwriter Leigh Whannell is widely recognized for his mastery of horror, having crafted the terrifying, undulating creatures of the Insidious series and the intricate, gruesome traps of the Saw franchise. However, in his latest project—the music video for Bloodwerk’s new single, “The Other Side”—Whannell pivots to a different, albeit equally relatable, form of terror: the service industry.

“I wanted to make something cinematic and story-driven, like a little, short film,” Whannell tells Rolling Stone. “It’s about how hard it can be to live in a city when the arts are thriving but you’re sitting on the outside of it, wanting to get in but feeling the sting of rejection.”

The video stars Bloodwerk’s Ned Brower—a musician formerly of the band Rooney and currently appearing as Nurse Jesse on The Pitt—as he endures a series of indignities from demanding restaurant patrons. The narrative culminates in a “Thriller”-esque dance sequence where Brower, donning one of the band’s signature skull masks, turns the tables on the rude guests, living out the ultimate fantasy for anyone who has ever faced the wrath of a difficult customer.

“Leigh and I are old friends and have always loved talking about records, punk bands, movies, and art in general,” Brower explains. “When he heard our new single, I saw something light up in his head and I knew it was gonna go down. He wrote a great treatment around our friend’s restaurant, the L.A. staple Genghis Cohen, and we went to work.”

Brower formed Bloodwerk alongside his friend John Low while working on the set of The Pitt. “I found that I was having a lot of downtime on the show, and something happened where my creative gears just went into high gear,” Brower previously shared. This project marks his first new musical endeavor since the dissolution of Rooney over a decade ago.

Reflecting on his career trajectory, Brower remains optimistic about the unpredictability of life. “My takeaway—being at the midpoint of life—is: You just never know where things are going to lead. So I tend to try and say yes to everything, and try new things,” he said. “There’s been huge failures along the way, but sometimes the big failures then lead to something incredible that you never would have anticipated.”