AI-Generated '80s Dark Fantasy

About

AI-Generated '80s Dark Fantasy refers to various series of images created via the artificial intelligence art system Midjourney V4 that imagine various franchises and films as though they were crafted in the style of 1980s dark fantasy films such as Legend, The Neverending Story, The Dark Crystal, etc. These generally showcase similar visual themes like dark colors, prosthetic makeup and blue eyes that are hallmarks of the genre. The trend began growing in late 2022 and continued into early 2023 with a variety of video compilations and photo albums spread online.

Origin

On November 27th, 2022, Imgur user kns201^[1] posted the first photo album showcasing AI-generated pictures that look as though they took place on the set of a dark 1980s fantasy film (example shown below). The user has continued posting AI-generated '80s film screens in the six weeks since.

Spread

Over the following weeks, the trend continued to spread on multiple cinema-related boards, such as 4chan's /pol/ section for television and film and Reddit. For example, on November 28th, 2022, Redditor jarts posted multiple "frames" from a fictional 1988 movie titled Chrome Lords, which seemed to be based on Terminator and Robocop, in /r/midjourney^[2] (example shown below, left). On November 30th, Redditor Bteatesthighlander1 posted a collage of Chrome Lords frames in /r/moviescirclejerk,^[3] gaining over 550 points in one month (shown below, right).

The trend then migrated to YouTube, where creators posted trailer-like shorts showcasing AI-generated images they'd created, usually from existing IPs. For example, on January 2nd, 2023, YouTuber Xickel posted a video imagining The Avengers as a Dark '80s film gaining over 200,000 views in one week (shown below, left). On January 5th, The Pharaoh Nerd posted a similar short reimagining Adventure Time, gaining over 440,000 views in five days (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References