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5 Music Videos From Horror Directors

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For many directors, the path to making a movie is by proving one’s worth via some other medium. For example, Saw II, III, and IV director Darren Lynn Bousman’s first directing gig was a music video for Static-X. And that path wasn’t just one he alone went down. For many director’s music videos are the beginning of what may become a long and exciting career, one that brings them praise and accolades.

Since there are some really high profile directors who ventured into horror but also dabbled in music videos in the early days of their careers, I figured we could take some time to give them some praise and recognition! Besides, I’m willing to bet that you had NO idea some of these directors were behind these videos!

Alright, here we go!

Crowded House “Don’t Dream It’s Over” – Alex Proyas

The director of The Crow and Dark City directed this video for these 80’s Australian new wave rockers! The song was wildly popular, reaching #2 on the Billboard Top 100 in the US. Eight years later, he would direct Brandon Lee in the gothic action thriller that would become one of the biggest reasons teenagers ventured down the goth path.


Nine Inch Nails “We’re All in This Together” – Mark Pellington

Before the man who brought us the deeply unsettling The Mothman Prophecies and the shocking Arlington Road, he worked with Trent Reznor for this black and white video. He also directed videos for Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Pearl Jam, The Screaming Trees, Silverchair, and more! If you want to see something he did recently, you should watch Lone, the long form video he directed for doom folk artist Chelsea Wolfe.


Paula Abdul “Straight Up” – David Fincher

This one blew my mind. I honestly had no idea that Fincher, who brought us Alien 3, Seven, and Panic Room, was the same man who was behind the video for one of the 80’s catchiest songs. No joke, I honestly love the hell out of this track and knowing that Fincher was behind it just makes me a very happy person!


New Order “Touched By the Hand of God” – Kathryn Bigelow

The same year that Bigelow released Near Dark, she also directed this video for New Order, one of the most successful bands of the 80’s. Essentially a mockery of the glam metal videos that were being pumped out left and right, there’s also a strange narrative of a man chasing a woman in a car only for him to break through the windshield and then the two make out. Oh, and the man and woman? Apparently that’s a young Bill Paxton and Rae Dawn Chong!


Monster Magnet “Negasonic Teenage Warhead” – Gore Verbinski

Yup! The guy that brought us the US remake of The Ring, which is a fantastic adaptation, as well as the action/adventure epic Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (and the two immediate sequels) first cut his teeth in the music video world, mainly with punk and rock bands. I grabbed the below video, which was done towards the end of his music video career, because I fucking love me some Monster Magnet.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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