a quiet high schooler and Sydney Sweeney as the school's popular girl, Scarlett, as they navigate the beginnings of their romantic relationship. It begins following Fenix, as he is in a psychiatric hospital, before cutting to a news report that states that a student at Downfalls High School, whose music had recently gained success, had cut his ear off at graduation. It then flashes back to eight months prior, as Fenix can be seen getting bullied by a jock (Jaden Hossler). Scarlett soon leaves her popular friends to spend time with Fenix, his friend Jimmy (Jimmy Bennett) and Jimmy's girlfriend (Caroline Miner Smith), who had already dropped out of school. Scarlett soon buys Fenix a guitar and is revealed to be pregnant, before being involved in a car accident that kills her, without Fenix knowing about her pregnancy. Through his grieving, Fenix forms the band Pink Switchblade using the guitar, with Jimmy and Jimmy's friend (Landon Barker). After the band's first performance, Scarlett's best friend Tiffany (Maggie Lindemann) romantically pursues Fenix, however he turns her away. Fenix soon discovers Scarlett's pregnancy and decides to chop his ear off at his graduation as an act of despair. Directed by Baker and Derek Smith, it was filmed in four days during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film also includes appearances from Iann Dior, Omer Fedi, Trippie Redd and Blackbear. When Smith originally pitched casting Hudson as the film's protagonist, Baker had reservations due to his lack of a background in acting. In an interview with Metro, Smith stated that the main reason for this casting choice was that he wanted to style Hudson's clothing, stating "My first stipulation to working on any project within the last three years was that I can style it. I can’t tell you how fucking much I hate style when I look at TV and I see people literally dressing horribly". Much of the clothes worn by actors throughout the film were a part of Smith and Baker's then-unreleased clothing line "No Safety". Many were also the pair's own personal clothing. The film was generally well received and gained over 16 million views in its first weekend. NME rated the film 4/5 stars, stating "In a world of content for content's sake – films have often been used by artists try and extend the lifespan of an album – Downfalls High feels driven by purpose". Whereas, Exclaim! rated