Chris Cunningham’s six-minute film is of a piece with his other work, with grotesque meldings of technology and biological deformity. In the opening scenes, the titular character is revealed to be some kind of peculiar hospital patient, attended by a creepy chihuahua and some offcamera physicians who are alternately placating and belligerent. The film showcases Cunningham’s puzzling style, which seems to blend prostheses and digital manipulation in an artful and usually shocking way. But ultimately, the film serves the function of a music video for Aphex Twin, and not one that breaks any new ground. For all of the moody build-up, the video becomes disappointingly conventional and — once the wheelchairbound Johnny starts shooting musical laserbeams out of his hands — a little silly.
Far, far more disturbing is the collection of images found in the DVD’s booklet, which include stills from the film and those of bizarre, Frankensteinian monsters that seem to be composed entirely of anuses and scrota*. These come across as the love-children of Matthew Barney and Joel-Peter Witkin, and are so thoroughly unpleasant that I can’t even bring myself to link to them.
*Yes, that’s the plural of “scrotum”.
by Leo Goldsmith | Source: Warp DVD
16 Jul 2005 12:14 PM | Comments (1)
rumsey
1 August 2005
6:38 AM
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