Scheme Engine Unveils Provocative Music Video for Sam Smith’s Viral Hit ‘Unholy’

BIPOC-owned production company Scheme Engine and world-renowned director Floria Sigismondi have unveiled the hotly anticipated music video for Sam Smith featuring Kim Petras’ chart-topping track, ‘Unholy’. 

Shot in London with UK production company Just Fred, the theatrical four-minute film is set in ‘The Body Shop’, a show-world of wonder and danger where Sam Smith stars as the singing MC and Kim Petras as a sensual dancer in a lustful extravaganza of costume, dance, and sexual power. With cameos by Gottmik and Violet Chachki from "RuPaul's Drag Race" and porn star Paddy O'Brian, the film follows a husband who ducks out on his wife and sneaks off to his favorite sex club cabaret, where he soon finds his guilty pleasures revealed in a very public manner. After discovering her husband’s unfaithful ways, the film grandesously concludes with the wife character becoming liberated by her own sexuality, rather than a victim to the scandal.

A modern retelling of the spectacle of cabaret, Floria drew from her experiences in the performing arts to craft the rich and exaggerated visuals. Born to Italian opera singer parents, the multidisciplinary director’s trademark cinematic style is notable throughout the video, influenced by her upbringing around the theatrical and the avant-garde - also seen in her award-winning work for the likes of Gucci, Rihanna, David Bowie, and Justin Timberlake. 

Choreographed by French dance collective (LA)HORDE, who are famed for their ability to develop scenarios and actions that take up radically contemporary themes and questions, the seductive music video is a visual feast led by a diverse and queer cast. Cast by Hannah Ashby Ward at Lane Casting, an LGBTQ+ owned company, the video showcases real, diverse and unapologetic bodies.  

With references to French surrealist photographer Claude Cahun and noted corset maker of the late 20th Century, Mr. Pearl, the video’s costume designer Lisa Jarvis created an impressive range of otherworldly looks for the enormous ensemble. Pulled from top design houses as well as from young emerging designers, Lisa created custom looks for Violet Chachki and Kim Petras which included a magnificent disintegrating pearl dress. Opulent, sensual and intoxicating to watch, the costumes are intrinsically unique to match the vibrant energy of each cast member, including superstar Sam Smith whose looks were created by Ben Reardon in collaboration with designers such as Stephen Jones, Prada and Ed Mahler. 

Floria Sigismondi, sirector, comments: “I grew up in the world of theatre and opera. This film presented the platform for me to reach deep into that history. It was important to me to bring the theatrics and drama to the film while also giving it a modern feel. We were not interested in creating a period piece. We wanted to create our own world. The theatre and setting gave us the history of cabaret but the costumes broadened that and injected a modern element. For me it's a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and creating that celebration was the most important and joyous experience.

Jannie McInnes, executive producer at Scheme Engine, adds: “The creative excellence and expression across departments on this project completely blew my mind. Floria sets a high bar, inspires people to bring their most creative selves and she wants everyone to have fun doing it. We are really grateful to Sam and the label for affording us the luxury of real prep time and we used every second of it!”

Lisa Jarvis, wardrobe stylist, continues: “I've been a fan of Floria's work for quite a while, and as soon as I saw the mood board and heard “A Clockwork Orange”, "Claude Cahun", “Mr. Pearl", "Crazy Horse", I knew it was right up my alley and would be hella fun to dive into. Taking the references in mind, I wanted to create a world where there was a huge range of visual looks and everyone embraced them. It needed to be otherworldly, opulent, sensual, and a little bit intoxicating to watch with more than a strong twist of naughty.”

The ‘Unholy’ music video made its global broadcast premiere on MTV Live, MTVU, MTV Biggest Pop, NickMusic and across MTV’s global network of channels, as well as on the iconic Paramount Times Square billboards.