Human Traffic

Human Traffic is a British independent film written and directed by Welsh filmmaker Justin Kerrigan. The film explores themes of coming of age, drug and club cultures, as well as relationships. It includes scenes provoking social commentary and the use of archive footage to provide political commentary. The plot of the film revolves around five twenty-something friends and their wider work and social circle, the latter devotees of the club scene, taking place over the course of a drug-fuelled weekend in Cardiff, Wales. A central feature is the avoidance of moralising about the impact of 1990s dance lifestyle; instead the film concentrates on recreating the "vibe, the venues and the mood" of the dance movement from the 1991 "summer of love" to the film's release in 1999. In the first 25 minutes of the film Lee, the 17 year old brother of central character Nina, enthuses "I am about to be part of the chemical generation" and lists, using the slang of the period, a series of drugs that he might experiment with later that night. The film is narrated by one of the stars, John Simm, featuring numerous cameo appearances. It is also the film debut of Danny Dyer as well as referencing another drug culture film of the era, Trainspotting.

With an original budget of £340,000, the production eventually came in for £2,200,000; the film was a financial success, taking in £2,500,000 at the UK box office alone, also enjoying good VHS and DVD sales. Human Traffic was critically well-received with largely positive reviews, and has achieved cult status, especially amongst subcultures such as the rave culture.

Problems between Kerrigan and producer Allan Niblo ensured that a sequel never materialized, and Niblo's 2004 DVD re-release of the film, Human Traffic: Remixed, was not well received.