Music videoFilm influencesMitski

Behind the Camera: How Horror Classics Inspire Indie Music Videos — A Look at Mitski’s Visuals

aasian

2026-01-29

10 min read

How Mitski’s "Where's My Phone?" borrows Grey Gardens and Shirley Jackson to turn domestic clutter into cinematic dread.

Why we keep looking to horror to explain the quiet panic of modern life

Finding reliable, thoughtful analysis of music videos is harder than it should be—clips land on TikTok, stills on Instagram, and the full work gets buried behind algorithmic churn. For fans and creators who crave deeper context, that fragmentation makes it difficult to trace how filmmakers borrow and remix cinematic language — especially when a new Mitski video folds together references from Grey Gardens and Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House.

In January 2026 Mitski began teasing her eighth album, Nothing’s About to Happen to Me, and released the single "Where's My Phone?" with a video explicitly channeling domestic dread. The single rollout—complete with an eerie dial-in message quoting Shirley Jackson—signals more than marketing savvy: it demonstrates how contemporary music-video directors are turning to horror classics to map the emotional textures of anxiety, isolation and domestic unruliness. This piece offers a close Mitski video analysis and a practical guide for directors, musicians and curious viewers who want to understand and apply these techniques ethically and effectively.

The short answer: horror tropes translate anxiety into image

Horror isn’t only about jump-scares. It’s a rich toolbox for articulating emotional states that words struggle to hold: the claustrophobia of a small house, the uncanny stillness of a well-lived-in room, the slow accumulation of things that suggest a life in stasis. Directors borrow these elements to give music videos a psychological spine: camera choices, set dressing, sound design and pacing combine to make the domestic feel uncanny.

What Mitski’s "Where's My Phone?" signals

Rolling Stone’s January 2026 coverage made two explicit reference points: the Shirley Jackson quote on Mitski’s promotional phone line and the aesthetic nod to Grey Gardens. Those references frame the song’s protagonist as a reclusive woman in an unkempt house—a private realm that both shelters and isolates. In the music video, as with the source texts, the home becomes a character. The result is a visual strategy that directs our unease inward.

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.” — Shirley Jackson, as quoted by Mitski’s promotional message, 2026

That line is a thesis for the video: the breakdown isn't spectacular; it’s horizontal and domestic. Directors referencing Jackson and the documentary Grey Gardens are less interested in phantoms than in atmosphere—the slow erosion of routine and identity within the walls of a private space.

How directors borrow cinematic imagery — the techniques at work

Below are the common formal devices directors use when they translate horror cinema into music-video storytelling. These are the techniques you’ll recognize in Mitski’s work and in the wider wave of cinematic music videos in 2025–26.

Mise-en-scène as psychology: Set decay, clutter, and period objects suggest a life unpruned by public performance. Costume and household items function as emotional signifiers.
Controlled frame sizes: Tighter ratios like 4:3 or square crops compress space and intensify intimacy, echoing documentary close-quarters like Grey Gardens.
Lighting that flattens and reveals: Harsh practicals and desaturated palettes create a documentary feel while preserving cinematic contrast—faces emerge from shadow like memory fragments.
Long takes and lingering pushes: Slow camera moves force viewers to inhabit the space rather than simply observe it—this pacing breeds tension.
Sound design as a layer of dread: Ambience, muted domestic noises and isolated Foley (a phone buzz, a clock ticking) create a substrate of unease that complements the score.
Reframing domestic objects as the uncanny: Mirrors, phones, outdated wallpaper and fraying upholstery become loci of memory and anxiety.

Why these choices work for music videos

Music videos are compressed storytelling environments. Borrowed horror imagery accelerates emotional shorthand: a single lingering shot of a decayed dining room can communicate themes of abandonment, class, memory and shame in a way that lyrics alone may not. For Mitski—whose songwriting often explores interiority and social alienation—the horror-informed visual language amplifies meaning rather than simply dressing it up.

A case study: translating Grey Gardens and Jackson into a short film

Grey Gardens (1975) is a cinéma vérité portrait of two reclusive women living in squalor. Directors borrowing its aesthetic often take the following elements:

Documentary texture: grain, imperfect focus, and handheld camera work that suggest intimacy and voyeurism.
Domestic celebrity decay: faded glamour mixed with present neglect—costumes that reference a more public past.
Ambiguous sympathy: the camera lingers without editorializing, letting viewers feel the friction between pity and fascination.

In Mitski's rollout, the album’s press materials explicitly frame the protagonist as a woman who is “a deviant” outside yet “free” inside her house. The video’s implied alignment with both Grey Gardens and Shirley Jackson creates a hybrid: the haunt is not supernatural but social and psychological, produced by isolation and the pressure to perform an identity in public.

2025–26 trends shaping cinematic music videos

Understanding Mitski’s visuals also means placing them within tech and cultural trends that defined late 2025 and early 2026:

Domestic horror's pop-cultural resurgence: Streaming platforms and indie filmmakers expanded narratives about home-based dread, making the domestic uncanny a mainstream visual shorthand.
Festival circuits and short film commissioning: Labels and streaming partners increasingly fund music videos that function as short films; this economic support allows for more cinematic ambitions.
AI-assisted preproduction: Storyboarding, mood-boarding and previs frequently use AI tools to generate visual references. Directors lean on AI for early iterations but still prioritize hands-on cinematography for authenticity.
Vertical-first edits: Artists release vertical or short-form edits for social platforms alongside the cinematic cut—an important distribution strategy for maximizing reach in 2026.
Ethical and legal scrutiny: As references to documentary subjects and classic texts multiply, platforms and artists face increased calls to credit, clear rights, and avoid exploitative appropriation.

Practical advice for creators — how to borrow with intention

Directors and indie musicians who want to borrow horror aesthetics to convey emotional nuance should treat these tools like language. Here are practical, actionable steps to do it well—on a shoestring or with a full production budget.

1. Start with an emotional brief, not a shotlist

Define the feeling you want to convey in one sentence—e.g., "household stasis as slow violence"—before collecting visual references. That keeps homage from becoming hollow pastiche.

2. Use film-history research to sharpen your references

Watch the works you’re referencing—documentaries like Grey Gardens, adaptations of Shirley Jackson’s work, and mid-century atmospherics such as Robert Wise’s 1963 The Haunting. Note specific techniques: how close-ups read emotion, how natural light is used to hide as much as reveal, and how unspectacular moments become traps for the mind.

3. Build a tactile production design plan

On a budget, thrifted items, practical lights and in-camera effects create the texture you need. Seek out locations that already have layered wear—a lived-in house often beats a stage set for authenticity. Use small, meaningful props (a rotary phone, a faded dress) that anchor the story.

4. Prioritize sound design

Sound design and ambiences do heavy narrative lifting. Record or design Foley—door hinges, distant traffic, insect hums. Subtle, low-level textures can make a frame feel inhabited in ways image alone cannot.

5. Choose an aspect ratio to serve intimacy

4:3, 1.37:1 or even square crops force the audience into the subject’s private sphere. Use lens compression and shallow depth-of-field to keep focus on faces and hands—small gestures read as big emotional beats.

6. Use AI for prep, not finality

AI tools accelerate storyboarding and mood-board assembly. But in 2026, audiences and festivals expect human craft in the final footage. Use AI to test compositions and color directions, then execute through practical photography and post.

7. Clear rights and credit documentary lineage

If your work quotes or closely references texts (Shirley Jackson) or documentaries (Grey Gardens), consult legal counsel. Attribution and respectful framing reduce ethical risk. When in doubt—credit, disclose, and engage with the source material’s context.

Distribution playbook: get your cinematic video seen in 2026

Creating a cinematic piece is only one half of the job. Here are distribution tactics that match the current media landscape.

Dual edits: Release a full cinematic cut and a vertical 60-second edit optimized for TikTok/Reels. Both serve different attention economies.
Interactive rollouts: Mitski’s phone-line teaser is a model—mysterious, participatory touchpoints deepen fan engagement. Consider microsites, ARG elements or location-based drops.
Festival submissions: Submit to music-video festivals and arthouse circuits; commissioned shorts now find distribution via streaming partnerships.
Director’s commentary and behind-the-scenes: Contextual pieces reinforce the intentionality of your references and build trust with audiences who want credible interpretation.

Ethics and interpretation: homage vs. appropriation

When you borrow from documentary subjects or artists who portray marginalized lives, reflection matters. Grey Gardens documents real people whose lives have been mined for aesthetic effect before. Modern directors must ask: who benefits from the reference? Is the source credited? Does the work exploit suffering for style?

For musicians like Mitski—who is both an artist and a subject of public interpretation—the video can be an act of self-curation. But creators standing outside those narratives must take care. Cite inspirations, get releases where needed, and consider collaborating with descendants or communities connected to documentary subjects.

Why this matters now: the cultural stakes of domestic dread

In 2026, the edges between personal content and public persona are blurrier than ever. Music videos that reference horror classics do more than aesthetic borrowing: they place intimate emotional worlds into a language people already understand. That language helps viewers—especially those in diasporic or gendered spaces where domestic labor and isolation have particular valences—grapple with loneliness, performance, and the friction between inside and outside.

Mitski’s "Where's My Phone?" rollout is exemplary because it doesn’t treat references as pastiche. The Shirley Jackson quote, the Grey Gardens frame of mind and the carefully curated mise-en-scène converge to create a small cinematic ecosystem where anxiety is legible and felt.

Final takeaways — actionable points for creators and viewers

For creators: Start from an emotional brief, use documentary textures sparingly, prioritize sound design, and credit your influences. Use AI for rapid ideation but not for unethical replications.
For directors on a budget: Scout lived-in locations, thrift production design, shoot practical light, and use long takes to amplify tension without expensive VFX.
For viewers and critics: Look for the specific techniques—aspect ratio, lighting, set dressing—that signal homage. Contextualize references instead of treating them as Easter eggs.

Where to watch and how to keep following the conversation

Watch Mitski’s "Where’s My Phone?" cinematic cut and the vertical edits. Pay attention to the director and cinematographer credits—their other work will reveal a through-line of aesthetic influences. Follow the rollout on Mitski’s official channels and the project’s microsite; the phone-line teaser is an example of how to extend narrative beyond the screen.

Join the discussion

If you’re a filmmaker, musician or engaged viewer, use these techniques thoughtfully. Share your favorite examples of music videos that use horror references to tell intimate stories—tag the director when you can, credit your influences, and support ethical collaborations that respect documentary subjects and literary sources.

Call to action: Watch Mitski’s latest, then come back and tell us which shot stuck with you. Submit your analysis, or pitch a short piece about how you’d adapt a horror trope into a music video—our editorial team at asian.live is curating reader responses for a follow-up feature on cinematic music videos in 2026.

asian

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.