Talk about cinematic ecstasy. Has any film captured the ‘90s rave generation like Human Traffic? Justin Kerrigan’s 1999 pilled-up cult classic is a rave-centric romp through a carnage-fuelled Cardiff weekend – a love-letter to getting loaded, featuring the first performance from Danny Dyer, and early turns from John Simm, Andrew Lincoln, and Shaun Parkes. The film has remained a firm favourite over the decades – and 25 years on, Empire celebrates its impact and ongoing legacy in a brand new anniversary feature, speaking to Kerrigan, Dyer and Simm about their memories (or, understandable lack thereof) of its madcap making.
Just like the on-screen antics, the creation of Human Traffic was something of a non-stop party – with all involved not holding back in bringing the good vibes to the screen. Take that legendary “Nice one, bruvva!” scene, in which Dyer’s Moff and Simm’s Jip end a phone call in endearingly chaotic style. “We pushed that to the absolute fucking extreme,” Dyer tells Empire. “I just went fuckin’ crackers on it, which I was allowed to do. Moff being the biggest fucking cane-head in it — I could really play that. It was my first outing to really express my... Cockney-ism, whatever you want to fucking call it.”
All these years on, Human Traffic remains beloved for its commitment to celebrating club culture – without any wider serious ramifications. “It was just about young people who go out, get fucked up, talk a lot of shit, dance around, cuddle each other, have a comedown and go back to work — roll the credits,” says Dyer. But at the time, it was that level of carefree hedonism that made the film industry hesitant. “A lot of distribution companies just didn’t want anything to do with it,” remembers Dyer. “They were saying, ‘You gotta reshoot it. There needs to be some sort of moral ending.’” Dyer remains unconvinced. “I mean, it’s not fuckin’ Oppenheimer,” he points out. “It’s not gonna make you feel thick while watching it. You know what I mean?” Nice one, bruvva!
Read Empire’s full celebration of Human Traffic – speaking to filmmaker Justin Kerrigan and stars Danny Dyer and John Simm 25 years on – in The Acolyte issue, on sale Thursday 11 April. Order a copy online here.