Its rare that a story about a dude murdering people and putting the in the back of his car will make you laugh, but that is exactly what happens in "Toe Cutter - Thumb Buster" by Thee Oh Sees, directed by John Strong. The video has the feeling of a short film, dropping us in the middle of the action as a guy is loading another guy into the back of his car. From that point on, the video takes us on a ride of further murder and resourcefulness, all the way up until the laugh out loud reveal at the end. We talked to John about the video, using murder in a music video, and the different reactions the video has gotten.
Doug: How did you get involved with the project?
John: It started with the first promo I did for them, "Lupine Dominus." Up until the summer of last year, I was having a lot of difficulty approaching labels and selling them on the idea that I could create music videos for their artists, since I hadnt made any prior. When "Lupine Dominus" was released as a single, I had come up with an idea I was confident the band wouldnt turn down. But in order to avoid further rejection, I decided not to contact them until it had already been funded, filmed and edited. Afterwards, I emailed a link asking if they would make it their official video to which they said yes. When it came time to shoot my thesis film for school of this past year, I got a sneak peek at their latest album and asked if I could do a second video for them. Because of our rapport, John Dwyer said, "pick any one you want."
Doug: Conceptually, for this idea, where did that come about?
John: The concept actually started with trying to think of a setting that we could most likely obtain for free as well as yield available light, thus removing the necessity to rent more equipment and hire more hands. It was only after deciding on a parking lot as the location that I came up with the idea of two serial killers running into one another in the midst of their separate sprees. Its an awfully backwards way of a thinking but the restraints demand that you be a little more thoughtful in your approach. Also, when you have an incredible song to propel the narrative, about half the work is already done.
Doug: Im curious about the concept of being able to murder somebody with a can. Did you look into whether or not that could actually be done?
John: When you watch films like Casino, Irreversible, or There Will Be Blood, its hard not to become enamored by the inventive ways in which someone can perish. I felt that it wouldnt be very satisfying for the protagonist to have a gun that he could use to kill off each of his hindrances, so a huge part of the concept came from the aspiration to be resourceful. I didnt do too much research to figure out whether or not you could kill someone with a can of beans but I did look into how long it might take to suffocate someone with a grocery bag. I had this idea that the 3rd victim would begin to cough up blood but with further research I found it to be unrealistic.
Doug: I literally laughed out loud at this video, especially that end reveal, was that the point? For it to be darkly funny like that?
John: There was always the intention to be comical. I thought that most of the absurd humor would derive from the situation itself so the only direction was to play it straight. Surely not every serial killer can be as slick as Dexter.
Doug: What kind of responses have you gotten to this video? Have people thought that it was funny as well, or were some people a little terrified?
John: There is a minority of viewers who perceive the video as unsettling. My girlfriend tends to share a lot of my projects to a client of hers and perhaps didnt give enough forewarning. The clients response was I have enough hell in my life. I took it as a huge compliment. Though, for the most part, Ive been fortunate enough to get a very warm reaction despite its transgressive content. Im sure itd be a lot more divisive if a Taylor Swift track were playing in the background. Thatll be my next goal.
Doug: What about the band having of murder in their video? The goal of a lot of music videos is to, at the end, promote the music. Do you think that a video like this still is able to do that?
John: No subject matter is off limits for them. This concept just happened to involve murder. We both have similar feelings in that short films are generally not a very popular approach but unlike most performance-based videos, they force you to listen to the song more intently since its driving the narrative rather than operating as background music for some passive visuals. It might be harder to digest for some but I would like to think that the experience is more rewarding.
Note: John was recently signed to Forever Pictures.
