John Carpenter - Night

Horror maestro John Carpenter is front and center in the first music video promoting his debut album "Lost Themes". One of if not the most iconic horror director of the early to late 80's, Carpenter is just as much one of the architects of the aural landscape of the contemporary sci-fi horror genre as he is its visual curator.

In "Night", we see Carpenter don a Oculus Rift helmet to embody the presence of a remote-controlled robot, tearing through the iridescent-soaked streets of midnight L.A. before meeting up with a buddy for a friendly game of baseball. Although the video itself isn't directed by Carpenter, co-directors Gavin Hignight and Ben Verhulst do an exceptional job of echoing the visual nuances of  his best work. Here's hoping we see more videos from this album in the future!

Flying Lotus - Coronus, The Terminator

Coronus, The Terminator is the latest installment in Flying Lotus' ongoing onslaught of masterfully directed music-videos. One of the most celebrated highlight tracks off of You're Dead!, Coronus needed an appropriately epic and ominous video to accompany the track's narrative of an harbinger of death coming down to lay waste to the Earth.

What we got was the story of man's premature passage through the bardos of the after-life, fleeing from the specters of death and regret that inhabit his home, and chasing the image of his son through the catacombs of otherworldly highways before ultimately submitting to the inevitable conclusion of his mortality.

Try though you might, you can't run forever...

This video is so chocked-full of symbolism it's intimidating. There's the destination of "Pleroma" and "You're Dead!" scrolling on the bus' LED screen, the eruption of lotus flowers, the one-armed son who can't place his hand on the chest of his father.

After watching it multiple times, I can't seem to shake the timeliness of this quote from one of my favorite horror movies Jacob's Ladder, "...if you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth." Young Prodigy has joined the ranks of Hiro Murai, David Lewandowski, Kahlil Joseph, and David Firth as one of Flying Lotus' most formidable collaborators.

Worth Checking Out - Pathologic (Мор.Утопия)

I admit I sat on this Kickstarter a little longer than I would have liked. After donating to the incredible project known as Pathologic, it somehow escaped me to share it with the rest of you. Back in 2005, Pathologic was originally released with an abysmal Russian-to-English translation that greatly inhibited player experience. Despite the bad translation, the game's mechanics and ambience were what truly made the game shine, providing it with the opportunity to amass a decent sized cult following.

Pathologic tells the story of three different doctors (each with their own separate storyline), trying to piece together the correct solution to a town's dangerous plague. While the game is in a sense, a survival game, the true gem of the game is using your wits to make tough decisions in order to save the lives of the town's inhabitants.

There isn't a way to save everyone, and the decisions you make affect the game in many ways. You might make the decision to track down patient zero, alternatively, you might also find it in your best interest to exterminate the plague holders. The method to reaching the plague's end is entirely up to the player, creating many different outcomes. 

Pathologic is looking to be a very real and moving experience, portraying a realistic plague scenario that players must overcome in anyway they see fit. The game's dark tone really sets an unnerving mood, and in a lot of ways, creates a sense of horror for the player throughout their twelve days in-game. The game's abstract character design and surreal method of storytelling holds a lot of similarities to ACE Team's 2009 release, Zeno Clash, which perks my interest for the project even further.

The Kickstarter is quickly approaching it's end date, with only 13 days left as of this post. With less than $20,000 to goal, Pathologic seems to be a assured a successful Kickstart. If you want to guarantee the game's success and check out a more in-depth look at it's mechanics, take a look over at the Kickstarter page over here.

"Orca" - A Dark Shadow Of Indifference

Inspired and disturbed by the Blackfish documentary, a feature about the plight of killer whales in captivity, Shuli Tager of the Belazel academy was inspired to create Orca. The animated short isn't lengthy but the message is quite damning, casting shame on the indifference that pervades societies in light of issues and injustices that loom right in front of them.

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. -Teddy Roosevelt

"To My Son" - The Devil Likes Rock 'N' Roll

To My Son is a pretty slick short film by Guts N Films directed by Guilherme Petry as part of a grindy tribute to the annual Rock 'N' Roll day, July 13th. Featuring the devil himself talking to his very own prodigal 'son,' we're made aware that his dark spawn is actually the lifestyle associated with most famous rock acts.

And after the Devil takes credit for the creation of the entire Rocker lifestyle - We get to witness all the sex, drugs, alcohol and general debauchery that plagues rockers till the bitter end. Long live the curse of 27.

"Bark" - Through The Eyes Of The Hunter

Creepy is the best way to sum up Bark, an unsettling stylized short created by Lucien Antigny at EMCA in France. Narrating the daily life of a hunter as he goes about his daily duties, it becomes painfully obvious that something is terribly amiss in his life. His sanity? Physical health? We're left guessing throughout the duration of Bark.

As the head of the household, he seems intent on maintaining that familial bond alive at all costs. As the short progresses the sound of buzzing mosquitoes becomes ever more prevalent, but we're left wondering- What is the source? Despite the presence of some French dialogue throughout, it's a pretty easy narrative to follow with one hell of a revelation towards the end.

Lazerhawk - "Children Of The Night" Is A Music Video With A Curious Backstory

Something kind of strange happened a few months back (Februrary), we posted this same music video by Alexandre Louvenaz for Gesaffelstein's excellent Obsession track, only to see it pulled a few hours later. It was an amazing music video, and fit the oppressive tone perfectly while narrating a downward spiral into depravity contained inside an unassuming house in the wilderness. I spent weeks looking for any track of the new music video, which had simply vanished into thin air, until now.



The edited music video just resurfaced today with a new artist attached to it, Austin's retro synth prodigy Lazerhawk- who contributed a more upbeat horror track to Andrew's visuals. Children of the Night channels a lot of 80's era VHS horror schlock, although after seeing the original pairing I still feel that Gesaffelstein's track was a better fit overall for the visual narrative. Nonetheless, nice to see Lazerhawk get some legit music video love.

"Bothered" - An Uncomfortable Reunion

On a seemingly empty train, a random acquaintance from the past suddenly shows up and attempts to rekindle a relationship that only one of them seems to remember. It's a classic encounter of an introverted versus an extroverted personality type , with a very interesting animated representation of what anxiety feels like. Directed by Christina Skyles at BYU.

Two former classmates see each other on a train. One of them is cheerful and friendly, perhaps a bit pushy. The other has a tendency to have strange, explosive anxiety attacks that terrify the people around her. This is a story about their encounter.

Plurabelle - "Our Fires"

It's all about the ominous vibes with Plurabelle's Our Fires, a track imbued with such an oppressive aural quality that it's kind of impressive. Couple that with the 2 tone music video by Mattis Dovier, who seems to be taking a few queues from Maruo Suehiro's muzan-e (A more violent ukiyo-e) stylings and low-fi PC graphics and you've got yourself one hell of a horror music video. The track is taken from Phantom Pyramid LP, set to release on June 16th via Stellar Kinematics.

Adolescence, embodied by the mutation into a monstrous beast, is a tribute to B-movies, drawing references from John Carpenter's or illustrator Charles Burns' universes. Symbolism in the transition into adulthood is seen as a rite of passage, requiring the death of a human being and the birth of another. The haunting mystical song immerses us inexorably into the intricacies of this transformation you can't avoid, whatever you do.

"Home" - An Unsettling Scifi Short

Hugo Moreno's Home is not a long feature, but within a timespan of less than a minute it manages to generate an incredible amount of suspense, and in a style reminiscent of Kubrick's greatest work. Those establishing one point perspective shots that he employs throughout Home do a fantastic job of delivering an unsettling effect, with everything dead set in the center. If you've had a chance to study cinematography enough, you'll realize that the effect employed by Moreno here is a fantastic counter to the prevalent 'rule of thirds' philosophy.

That sense of dread also creates an interesting time distortion effect, making it feel like this short is much longer than it's actual running time, and it left us wanting more. So much is left to the imagination here, and I just want to savor more of this unnatural event unfolding before our eyes. Moreno's amazing retro aesthetic has been in place since his student years at Les Gobelins, so be sure to check out his Kubrick/Moebius inspired scifi short Eclipse and suspenseful encounter animation, Canyon.

"Tsume" - Her Grudge Remains

Haunted by a decision that ultimately cost the life of her classmate, Tsume narrates the downward spiral of a girl who makes a terrible error in judgement. A grudge is held, and this classmate comes back to haunt her and drive her insane over the course of this CG animated short.

Enjoyed the elements of Japanese horror strewn throughout Tsume (Fans of The Grudge will know what I'm talking about), including some subtle yet unsettling choices by the folks at Topless including making the end credits scroll horizontally to create a sense of unease.

Something Is Amiss In "Anorak"

Produced at the Bristol School of Animation, Anorak is a highly compressed animated mystery- following a pig slowly realizing that something is terribly amiss in his coastal town. As his neighbors slowly start to go missing, he can no longer ignore the strange screams echoing off in the distance.

Anorak is in reference to the jacket that the protagonist wears in this town, a slang word for parka. The surreal vibes of this animated short emanated ultimately reminded me of something that Dave Lynch would come up with, a la Twin Peaks.

Annecy 2014 - "Hors Champ"

Hors Champ (Off camera) takes a much darker, grittier tone in it's approach by recreating a World War I style scene, complete with the 1:1 aspect ratio hearkening to camera technology of that era. Faceless men huddle together in the trenches, desperate rushes are made into oncoming fire, and eventually the camera man meets his maker as well.

The sound treatment for such a bite sized short was especially cool, going for a mostly silent route until a bullet makes contact with it's intended target. Directed by Hugo De Faucompret, Arthus Pilorget Pierre Pinon, Ravit Johan and Valentin Stoll.

6th Of June, 1944

The 6th Of June, 1944 - A day in which all of modern history pivoted on. This year was the 70th anniversary of D-Day, a day in which 160,000 soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy in a last ditch attempt to push back a force that seemed set to successfully fulfill it's ambitions of world domination.

Animated by L'Atelier using traditional hand drawn animation, 6th Of June captures the stark contrast of that beach- a peaceful place now, a killing field 70 years ago. We're all indebted to the efforts of those soldiers, as the world would have been a different place had that massive mission failed.

Pupa

John Lee's Pupa is the story about a boy who is about to go through that time of every boy's life, puberty. His body is ready to make a physical transformation, but in his eyes every grownup is a hideous monster. He fears that he will turn into one of them, and ultimately ends up making a futile attempt to block the onset of this churning going on inside him. After watching this, all I could think of was that John Lee's experiences with puberty probably leaned towards the 'not so favorable' territory.

Last Breath

Ever get that awful feeling that you're..Out of place? Out of your element? Outcast? Ying Ping Mak's Last Breath captures that feeling of slowly losing grasp of societal attachment. We witness a man become the target of a manhunt in a surreal, dystopian city in which breathing has become outlawed. Upon finding a breathing rebel who offers him a strange drug to conceal his 'affliction,' things go in a direction that reminded me of Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Absolutely loved the world that Mak crafted in this short.

Protagonist Yeuk Seng slowly grasps the fact that he has become a social outcast as a breathing person. Refusing to give in, he is now struggling to live in a city that he does not belong to anymore.

Edmond Was A Donkey (NSFW)

Finally released online following a very successful two year international festival stint, Franck Dion's animated tale about an individual who never quite fit in is finally online for us to check out. Despite the fact that he did nothing wrong other than being born different, these differences ultimately attract a negative reaction from those around him who opt to tease him incessantly. Be it out of jealousy, spite or a combination of both we're made to witness a dark transformation in Edmond after some people go too far. Edmond Was A Donkey offers some great lessons into the long lasting damage that bullying and abuse can have on any individual, delivered in a truly unique, highly stylized CG tale.

Edmond is not like everybody else. A small, quiet man, Edmond has a wife who loves him and a job that he does extraordinarily well. He is, however, very aware that he is different. When his co-workers tease him by crowning him with a pair of donkey ears, he suddenly discovers his true nature. And though he comes to enjoy his new identity, an ever-widening chasm opens up between himself and others.

Brain Damage Meets Vibronics - "Sufferation"

Directed by French animator Wasaru, this music video for Sufferation represents a truly interesting attempt at narrating the horrors faced by a forgotten group of soldiers who participated in WWI, with 2014 marking the 100th anniversary of that terrible conflict. Taken from 'Empire Soldiers,' the LP is dedicated to narrating the forgotten stories of the Carribean, African and Indian soldiers who fell during the campaign.

Down to the lyrics, Sufferation offers us a harrowing look into the terror that Sikh soldiers (Dubbed the 'Black Lions' by their British comrades) faced in an attempt to bring peace to embattled Europe. A total of 75,000 Indian troops died during the course of the conflict.

Röyksopp & Robyn Glitch Out With "Sayit"

Scandinavian electro outfit Royksopp and synthpop mistress Robyn just dropped Sayit, as part of their five song mini album collaboration called 'Do It Again.' Starting off as a pulsating, muffled track Sayit eventually transitions into delirious house coupled with an amazing glitch/corrupted visual accompaniemnt that's hard to look away from. The speak and spell vocals mixed with Robyn's very own smooth vocal accompaniment create an unsettling narrative about an unlikely love connection.

As the visual corruption builds up to a fever pitch, everything eventually ends with a visual bang of melting characters and pixelated dissonance. While the music video was directed by Sandberg & Timonen and Kacper Kasprzyk, Sayit is what I'd like to imagine Suda51 would come up with if he was tasked with creating a music video for a client.

"A Dangerous Journey" - Heart Of Darkness

A Dangerous Journey is a sobering retelling of the ways two young African women were coerced into human trafficking circles without their knowledge. Using animated sequences to retell the ways they were deceived by people who seemed to have nothing but their best interests in mind, it's a cautionary tale about thinking twice when an offer simply seems too good to be true. Created by Animage films, A Dangerous Journey has been screened around the world in a PSA format to educate people as to the true intentions of certain individuals.