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Written for Skyscraper
An axiom if you will: all of Chris Cunningham's videos are disturbing; some are just more disturbing than others. Sure, Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson freaked us out with their forays into theatrical horror, but their efforts (or the efforts of those directing their videos) seem positively campy compared with the apparitions expelled from Cunningham’s id. His gruesome couplings with Aphex Twin’s Richard James must be the most fitting in music video history—a match made in Hades. “Come to Daddy” may just be the most horrifying music video ever made. And his outrageous video for “Windowlicker” proves both grotesque and hilarious. Against a backdrop of sunshine and palms; generously proportioned, bikini-clad beauties gyrate before a bewildered audience. Stunning from the neck down, each of these vixens shares a common feature: they all bear James’s less-than-handsome mug—goatee included. Cunningham’s most stunning video though proves a thing of cold and elegant beauty. In Björk’s “All Is Full of Love,” two gleaming white androids—one with Björk’s face—languidly discover each other’s smooth metal bodies. The splendid video for Portishead’s “Only You” and Madonna’s “Frozen” share this chilly beauty, too. Compared with the effusive offerings from fellow directors Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry in the Work of Director series, Cunningham’s entry seems slight. Nonetheless, the consistency of his rich dark vision is remarkable.
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Robert Stribley
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