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… and yet, lately, making videos full of creepy, uncanny imagery seems to be the hot thing. David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick and Wes Craven never made music videos, but the hallmarks of their style can be seen all over MTV these days (or wherever it is besides YouTube that music videos premiere — seriously, where?). If you’re not sure what the heck I’m blathering about, allow me to provide a few seminal examples.
Artist: Bat for Lashes
Song: “What’s a Girl to Do”
Creepy film it references: Donnie Darko (Animal masks? BMX bikers? Unsettling atmosphere? It’s Darko all over.)
Artist: Royksopp
Song: “What Else is There?”
Creepy film it references: More than any film in particular, it seems to echo the photographs of Gregory Crewdson, whose strange and uncanny pictures feel a bit like stills from Spielberg — if he made horror films. You’ll see what I mean:
Artist: The Horrors
Song: “Sheena is a Parasite”
Creepy film it references: Jacob’s Ladder, which, don’t get me wrong, is an amazing flick. But this video’s use of strobe lights, freakishly sped-up, slowed-down and reversed shots of people making grotesque faces, and the whole “my girlfriend is a demon” theme — pure Ladder. (Though I guess if your band name is “The Horrors,” it’s all in a day’s work.) Warning: potentially too creepy for work.
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Tool always has the best creepy videos. Prison Sex was the creepiest. Oh and the video for A Perfect Circle’s “Blue” featured an insane woman who refused to let go of her deceased lover, and so had a lovely dinner with his corpse, talking to him all the while. The video ends by leading you into the possibility that she is now going to have sex with the corpse.
posted by Celeste on 11-30-2007 at 9:56 am
Aphex Twin should have been in this list. Talk about some heavy creep-sauce… Ugh…
posted by Lindsay on 11-30-2007 at 9:59 am
Nothing creepy about those. Except for maybe urinating milk. Try Aphex Twin videos. Rubber Johnny (Hills Have Eyes(remake)), Windowlicker (Friday, Miami Vice & your worst nightmare guys), & Come To Daddy(Village Of The Damned). DO NOT watch these alone or at work.
posted by Ella blue on 11-30-2007 at 10:48 am
Oh yes Aphex Twin! They are the creepy video gods! Not to mention their music is incredible.
posted by Lisa H on 11-30-2007 at 10:55 am
Thanks for the Crewdson reference; never seen his amazing stuff before :)
posted by Johnny Cat on 11-30-2007 at 10:57 am
Landscape’s My Name is Norman Bates creeped me out more than the actual movie of Psycho (although it might just be that the song itself is creepy). I only saw the video once or twice back in the ’80’s, but it really stuck in my mind.
posted by Camille on 11-30-2007 at 11:47 am
I absolutely adore Bat For Lashes!
While I wouldn’t call it creepy, the video for “Try Try Try” by the Smashing Pumpkins is quite possibly the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen.
posted by Jordan on 11-30-2007 at 12:32 pm
I don’t know about anyone else, but I always felt a little sick after watching Supersonic’s “Black Hole Sun”…especially the part where the little girl is BBQing her Barbie.
posted by Seabass on 11-30-2007 at 12:42 pm
Seabass….it’s Soundgarden…..not Spuersonic. Cool vidoe tho, by far.
posted by Lizzyj on 11-30-2007 at 12:52 pm
It’s creepy, yes.
It’s also creepy how violence and death seem to be making their way into mainstream media and advertisments. What’s frightening about the whole deal is that media and advertisments DO exert influence over their viewers.
Take, for example, America’s Next Top Model Season 8, Week 4. The models were told to pose themselves in the situation of a homicide.
(Since no links are allowed, google “America’s Next Top Model Season 8 Week 4″ to view the photographs; it’s the first link)
"e: “Nigel: I agree that this is a fashion shot, but you don’t look dead to me. You look like you’re dying.”
… Since when did being dead become sexy?
posted by Stephanie on 11-30-2007 at 2:45 pm
Well, okay – these videos are nessecarily violence and death, but the post spurred the thought process.
posted by Stephanie on 11-30-2007 at 2:48 pm
yes…I have noticed that too but it doesn’t really bother me…I just like the song!!!
hey but you should see this video of this Russian singers performance!! It is crazy!! I have never heard anyone sing like him
go to vitasvitas.com
posted by landy on 11-30-2007 at 3:44 pm
A video that actually gives me nightmares:
“Where’s your head at” by Basement Jaxx
posted by Nastia on 11-30-2007 at 5:55 pm
Here are a few fairly disturbing metal videos: “It All Dies Today” by Eyes of Fire – I am not sure what this video means but it will make you leary of cats. “Eyes of the Insane” by Slayer – Make that GRAMMY winners Slayer doing their tribute to the war, listen for the belt creak at the end. “Sorgens Kammer Del II” by Dimmu Borgir – Satan in every frame, brought to you by TNKOTB of black metal.
posted by voo on 11-30-2007 at 11:43 pm
All of those Aphex Twin videos were directed by Chris Cunningham and just about ALL of his videos run high on the creep-o-meter. I have a DVD of a bunch of his work and while they are visually striking and, in some cases, very beautiful, they are all super weird.
posted by JHop on 12-1-2007 at 1:09 pm
Wow! I just had a deja vu. I clicked the Gregor Crewdson site and though it looked somewhat familiar. Then I figured it out. His work reminds me of that of Anderson Luste. Go to his website at andersonluster.com and see for yourself. We happen to have the original of “Darkness on the Edge of Town”. It proudly hangs in our living room.
posted by Harold on 12-1-2007 at 10:46 pm
actually, lynch *has* made music videos. for the german band ramstienn.
posted by scoulter on 12-2-2007 at 2:59 am