Everybody knows dumping a body in the LA River is a bad idea. It's paved. And shallow. But, using it as a place to set fire to bad memories, bad habits and bad vibes is very smart, indeed. Director Mark Pellington runs through memories and fears as only he can, mixing up film styles and references in a tricky way that's as easy to follow as a sharpened knife edge. If it feels a bit personal, well, maybe knowing that the star of the video is French actress Juliette Buchs — married to Cage The Elephant singer Matt Schultz — adds even more clues and resonance.
Mark Pellington, director: "I wanted to make a sexy noisy pop blast...The energy and weird electric sense of desire and aggressiveness of the track was our theme...Love this band and this piece."
Be warned that there will be blood — and a bit of nudity — in this video for "Feral Love," taken from a forthcoming feature film that director Mark Pellington created with Chelsea Wolfe.
Despite those warnings, what really stands to knock you back is Pellington's foray into memory, fantasy, nightmare and beyond in a mix of filmic images. It's an imagistic style he's been developing since his 1992 Pearl Jam smash "Jeremy," and it's still effective as hell in cutting to the emotional core.
First off, we have Anton Corbijn's version, which is the one I most associate with the song. Shot on-location at and around Berlin's Samsa Studio where U2 recorded Achtung Baby and is probably best remembered as the video where U2 is dressed in drag (which overshadowed the fact that Bono's dad has a cameo in it, and made the band think that it wasn't appropriate since all single sales proceed were going to AIDS charities).
