Born Villain (film)

Last updated

Born Villain
Poster for Born VIllain.jpg
Directed by Shia LaBeouf
Written by
Shia LaBeouf
Produced byShia LaBeouf
Starring
  • Marilyn Manson
  • Miss Crash
  • Fred Sablan
  • Ashley Adair
  • Miss Crash
Release date
  • August 28, 2011 (2011-08-28)
Running time
6 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Born Villain is a surrealist horror short film directed by actor Shia LaBeouf in collaboration with singer Marilyn Manson. The film features a series of vignettes involving Manson's character cutting women's hair, a doctor inserting an eyeball into a woman's vagina, and characters reciting passages from William Shakespeare's Macbeth . Born Villain is sound-tracked by the Marilyn Manson song "Overneath the Path of Misery".

Contents

A promotional trailer for the album of the same name (2012), Born Villain was conceived of after Manson and LaBeouf became friends at a concert by The Kills. In crafting the film, the duo drew inspiration from theology, Macbeth, and the films Un Chien Andalou (1929) and The Holy Mountain (1973). The short premiered at the L.A. Silent Theater on August 28, 2011; the screening could only be attended by people who had purchased copies of Campaign , a limited edition book by Manson, LaBeouf and Karolyn Pho. Upon release, the short received mixed reviews from critics. Some praised its power to disturb, while others found it dull. Born Villain has been made available for purchase on DVD.

Background and development

The idea for the film originated after Marilyn Manson and Shia LaBeouf struck up a friendship at a concert by The Kills. The actor said that he found the singer "frightening" as a teenager, and that he had "always been intrigued" by his band's work. LaBeouf offered to direct Manson's next music video; in order to convince him he was a competent director, LaBeouf screened for Manson his directorial collaboration with American rappers Kid Cudi and Cage, Maniac (2011). Impressed, Manson then commissioned LaBeouf to create a video for the band. [1] [2] LaBeouf further expanded upon the project's genesis in an interview on Live with Regis and Kelly , saying that he went to see Manson at his home in West Hollywood, California, which LaBeouf described as a large movie theater where Manson spends much of his time viewing films. LaBeouf said that he and Manson watched several films together there, and discussed the "really eccentric ideas" they had for their video collaboration. [3]

Salvador Dali NYWTS.jpg
1991 Alejandro Jodorowsky 04.jpg
Films by Salvador Dalí (left) and Alejandro Jodorowsky (right) inspired Born Villain.

LaBeouf financed the film himself. [4] It was inspired by William Shakespeare's Macbeth , Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel's surrealist short film Un Chien Andalou (1929), Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain (1973), and what LaBeouf described as "heavy theology." [1] [2] Laney Chantal, the wife of Marilyn Manson member Twiggy Ramirez, served as the makeup artist for the short. [5] Manson thought of the title Born Villain after telling someone "Gentlemen prefer blondes...but I'm a villain." The short's title was also inspired by the fact that all of Manson's favorite characters from literature and cinema are villains. [4]

In an interview with Revolver , Manson said that his use of a Macbeth quote within Born Villain – "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" – could be understood as a mockery of LaBeouf, though this was unintentional. He added that he was unsure if LaBeouf was aware that the film could be seen as insulting him. In the same interview, Manson said that part of the reason he made Born Villain was because he viewed traditional music videos as "pointless", due to the decline of MTV. [4]

On August 17, 2011, Fred Sablan, who appears in the film and also performs bass guitar on the parent album, leaked the film's official website on his Twitter blog; the website additionally announced the project's release date. Marilyn Manson drummer Chris Vrenna said that Born Villain contains short clips from the parent album, as well as its own score. [1] The song "Overneath the Path of Misery" from the album was used in the film. [6] Via MarilynManson.com, the band's frontman explained his intentions in creating the short: [7]

"While looking to experiment in unlikely collaborations, I met Shia, and we spent a long night at my studio. After seeing Maniac, his short film, which is somewhat inspired by Man Bites Dog , I was astonished by his directing ability. So I shared quite a few of my favorite inspirations in art, literature, and obviously film. I was impressed with how Shia digested my world, and made what Id [ sic ] like to think, is both an homage [to] and a mockery of the history of cinema. We ended up writing a short film. The score is from my new album, and is, in the words of Macbeth, 'Full of sound and fury.'"

LaBeouf told MTV News that he enjoyed making the film, and that he would be unfazed if people who became fans of his through his role in Holes (2003) did not appreciate Born Villain, explaining: "I don't think my audience is the only thing I should exercise my artistic muscle for. I don't necessarily always do things for the audience; this is one of those." [2] Mallika Rao of HuffPost said that Born Villain served as a trailer for the album of the same name. [8]

Synopsis

The film repeatedly quotes Macbeth by William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare by John Taylor, edited.jpg
The film repeatedly quotes Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

Born Villain begins with a man (played by Marilyn Manson) cutting a pair of nude women's hair until they are bald. The movie then depicts an underage boy in white face makeup sitting next to an elderly man on a couch, who starts caressing the child's thigh. The man and boy begin physically fighting, after which Manson's character recites part of the "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy from Macbeth, as the two women with shaved heads stand behind him. A group of masked people, two of them wearing Nazi uniforms, applaud his recitation.

Manson's character then watches a blindfolded man and woman have anal sex in a glass cage, followed by a scene in which a woman fails in an attempt to shoot an apple off a man's head; she instead shoots him in the eye. The dismembered eyeball, which is still fully intact, is handed to the woman. Another woman recites Lady Macbeth's plea of "Come, you spirits, that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here". She is then seen kissing a man with no legs, and is applauded by a pair of topless blindfolded women.

Manson's character is shown piercing a long, thin needle through a woman's cheek, before he combusts as he blows out a candle. Apparently unharmed, he reappears as a doctor dressed in medical garb, and removes an eyeball from his mouth and inserts it into a woman's vagina. He then says "The wages of sin is death", before forcing a gun attached to a crucifix into the mouth of the man who molested the boy in white face makeup. As the man screams, the boy smiles, and Manson's character pulls the trigger. Facing the corpse, Manson's character quotes Macbeth: "Nothing in his life. Became him like the leaving it." He sits on a chair next to the legless man and a lion, before the film fades to black.

Release

Campaign is a limited edition book by Shia LaBeouf (photographer), Karolyn Pho (photographer) and Marilyn Manson, which serves as a visual accompaniment to the film. Campaign was released in August 2011 by LaBeouf's Grassy Slope Entertainment, Inc., alongside DVD copies of the film. [8] MTV reported that Manson and LaBeouf would appear at Los Angeles's Hennessey + Ingalls bookstore to sign copies of the book and screen the short. Attendance of the event was limited to 150 people over the age of eighteen, who were required to buy a copy of the book. [2] Copies of Campaign were sold for $75 and featured of photographs of graffiti and cut-outs of LaBeouf and Pho placed around Los Angeles. [8] The film had its premiered at the L.A. Silent Theater on August 28, 2011; the premiere was attended by actors Jon Hamm and Billy Zane. [9] The short was later screened at Space 15 Twenty in Los Angeles, with entry guaranteed exclusively to those who purchased the book. [8] Born Villain was also screened at the Studio Servitu in Los Angeles, a club co-owned by Miss Crash, a fetish model who appears in the film. The short was screened there as part of an art show where Manson debuted songs from the album Born Villain, Ramirez performed a DJ set, and artist Nick Kushner displayed some of his paintings, including a portrait of Manson painted in the artist's blood. [10]

Critical reception and analysis

Critics praised Manson's continued ability to disturb audiences. Marilyn Manson Cannes.jpg
Critics praised Manson's continued ability to disturb audiences.

Upon its release, several critics praised its power to disturb. Loudwire 's Joe Robinson called the short "the most interesting, challenging and envelope-pushing video Manson has made in a decade. It also may be his most disturbing, so watch at you own risk." [11] Writing in Spin , Kevin O'Donnell said that Born Villain "proves the shock-rocker has not lost his ability to freak fans out" and is "sicker than ever," adding that the scene "where Manson pokes a needle into a woman’s cheek, might be the sickest thing ever captured in a music video. And the execution at the end is just plain terrifying." [12] Lina Lecaro of LA Weekly felt that through the "arty, dramatic, salacious, [and] depraved" film Manson "reaffirms his 'shock rocker' status," though she was unsure of its meaning. [10] For Billboard , RJ Cubarrubia reacted to the video by saying "Good news: Marilyn Manson is still terrifying". [13]

Some critics praised LaBeouf's abilities as a director. Amos Barshad of Grantland praised LaBeouf for his "directorial chops" and for crafting a "effectively, overwhelmingly gross" film. Barshad felt that Born Villain's use of the Macbeth quote "[It] is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury. It signifies [sic] nothing" meant that the short was meaningless. [14] The Chicago Reader 's Miles Raymer said that "Born Villain is pretentious garbage, and it's fantastic....I think LeBeouf [sic] just might have what it takes to be a great B-movie filmmaker. This thing is so big and overwrought and blind to its own ridiculousness that it does what all great exploitation movies do, which is to go past being so bad that it's good to become something so bad that it's art." Raymer also liked Born Villain better than Maniac. [15]

Other critics were less impressed. In Consequence of Sound , Chris Coplan found Born Villain's visuals too similar to the singer's previous work. [1] MetalSucks' Axl Rosenberg criticized the film's appropriation of pre-existing sources, feeling that Macbeth is unrelated to Un Chien Andalou, a film which he considered far superior to Born Villain. Rosenberg further asserted that Manson did not understand the "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy. [16] Max Feldman of PopMatters wrote that by collaborating with LaBeouf for the short and Johnny Depp for his band's cover of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" (1972), Manson is feeding the consumerism and celebrity culture he used to criticize. [17] IndieWire's Kevin Jagernauth and Metal Injection's Robert Pasbani dismissed the video as boring, with the former criticizing its music and the latter jokingly telling LaBeouf and Manson to commit suicide due to the short's poor quality. [18] [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn Manson (band)</span> American rock band

Marilyn Manson is an American rock band formed by namesake lead singer Marilyn Manson and guitarist Daisy Berkowitz in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1989. Originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids, they gained a local cult following in South Florida in the early 1990s with their theatrical live performances. In 1993, they were the first act signed to Trent Reznor's Nothing Records label. Until 1996, the name of each member was created by combining the first name of a female sex symbol and the last name of a male serial killer‍—‍for example, Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. Their lineup has changed between many of their album releases; the eponymous lead singer is the only remaining original member.

Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twiggy Ramirez</span> American rock musician

Jeordie Osbourne White, better known Twiggy Ramirez or simply Twiggy, is an American musician, mostly known as the former bassist and guitarist of the rock band Marilyn Manson. Previously, he was the bassist for A Perfect Circle and a touring member of Nine Inch Nails, and is currently the vocalist for Goon Moon. He left Marilyn Manson in 2002, later rejoined the band in 2008, and was dismissed in 2017. He has been a principal songwriter for the band and has also contributed to some of the Desert Sessions recordings. He also hosted the Hour of Goon podcast with fellow musician Fred Sablan, on the Starburns Audio network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn Manson</span> American musician (born 1969)

Brian Hugh Warner, known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band that shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since its formation in 1989. Known for his controversial stage personality, his stage name was formed by combining the names of two opposing American cultural icons: actress Marilyn Monroe and cult leader Charles Manson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shia LaBeouf</span> American actor (born 1986)

Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens, a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and 2002 and won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2003. He made his film debut in The Christmas Path (1998). In 2004, he made his directorial debut with the short film Let's Love Hate and later directed a short film titled Maniac (2011), starring American rappers Cage and Kid Cudi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cage (rapper)</span> American rapper

Christian Palko, better known by his stage name Cage, is an American rapper from Middletown, New York. With a majority of his career being spent with record labels Definitive Jux and Eastern Conference, he has released six solo albums, in addition to two compilation albums and two EPs.

<i>Disturbia</i> (film) 2007 film by D. J. Caruso

Disturbia is a 2007 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and written by Christopher Landon and Carl Ellsworth. Starring Shia LaBeouf, David Morse, Sarah Roemer and Carrie-Anne Moss, it is about a 17-year-old named Kale Brecht, who is placed on house arrest for assaulting his school teacher and who spies on his neighbors, believing one of them is a serial killer.

"Running to the Edge of the World" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. The track is from their seventh studio album The High End of Low (2009). The song is a soft rock power ballad with elements of blues, electronic music and 1980s heavy metal music that was written and produced by the band's eponymous frontman, Twiggy Ramirez and Chris Vrenna and co-produced by Sean Beavan. The track is about sex, death and destruction and features guitar and strings in its instrumentation and falsetto vocals from Manson. Music critics deemed the song a musical departure from the band's previous work and compared it to the music of other rock acts, particularly David Bowie.

<i>Born Villain</i> 2012 studio album by Marilyn Manson

Born Villain is the eighth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on April 25, 2012, by Cooking Vinyl and Marilyn Manson's independent record label Hell, etc. It was the band's first release since the departure of Ginger Fish, who had been their drummer since 1995, and was their only album to feature Fred Sablan. The record was co-produced by the band's eponymous vocalist alongside former Nine Inch Nails member Chris Vrenna, who left shortly after its completion to focus on other production work.

Robert Emms is a British film, stage and television actor, known for portraying Pythagoras in the BBC One fantasy-adventure series Atlantis, and Leonid Toptunov in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl.

Campaign is a coffee table book by Shia LaBeouf and Karolyn Pho which is attached to the project that accompanies Marilyn Manson's eighth album, Born Villain. It was released on August 28, 2011, by LaBeouf's Grassy Slope Entertainment production company through various retailers.

<i>Man Down</i> (film) 2015 American film

Man Down is a 2015 American war thriller drama film directed by Dito Montiel, written by Adam G. Simon, and starring Shia LaBeouf, Jai Courtney, Gary Oldman, Kate Mara, and Clifton Collins Jr. The film follows a Marine who returns from Afghanistan to find his hometown devastated, and his wife and son missing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mia Goth</span> English actress (born 1993)

Mia Gypsy Mello da Silva Goth is an English actress. After modelling as a teenager, Goth made her acting debut in the erotic art film Nymphomaniac (2013). She earned recognition with the films The Survivalist (2015), High Life (2018), Suspiria (2018), and Emma (2020). She achieved a career breakthrough for playing Maxine Minx and Pearl in the X film series (2022–2024), which established her as a scream queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Cantor</span> American singer-songwriter

Robert Howard Cantor is an American singer-songwriter and creator of multiple viral videos. He is mostly known as a vocalist, guitarist, and co-writer for the indie rock band Tally Hall and sometimes referred to as "Yellow Tie" by some fans.

"Shia LaBeouf" is a 2012 song by singer-songwriter Rob Cantor that portrays Hollywood actor Shia LaBeouf as a cannibal. In 2014, Cantor released an expanded music video with a cameo from LaBeouf himself.

<i>Maniac</i> (2011 film) 2011 American film by Shia LaBeouf

Maniac is an American short slasher film, directed by Shia LaBeouf. It was released for free on YouTube, on October 31, 2011. The short film stars American rappers Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi and Chris "Cage" Palko as French-speaking serial killers. Mescudi and Palko also co-wrote the film with LaBeouf.

LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner is an artist trio consisting of American actor and artist Shia LaBeouf, Finnish artist Nastja Säde Rönkkö, and British artist Luke Turner. Their performance art explores connection, emotion, and collaboration across digital and physical platforms.

<i>Honey Boy</i> (film) 2019 film directed by Alma Harel

Honey Boy is a 2019 American drama film directed by Alma Har'el and written by Shia LaBeouf, loosely based on his childhood and his relationship with his father. The film stars LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe and FKA Twigs.

Charlie Shotwell is an American actor. He started acting professionally at the age of six. His first notable role being the young Nai Cash in the 2016 comedy-drama film Captain Fantastic for which he received nominations for SAG Awards and Young Artist Awards. He was lead of the Netflix horror film Eli and the coming-of-age psychological thriller John and the Hole, and appeared in the comedy film Troop Zero.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Coplan, Chris (September 1, 2011). "Marilyn Manson's Shia LaBeouf-directed short film: "Born Villain"". Consequence of Sound . Archived from the original on June 30, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Warner, Kara (August 31, 2011). "Shia LaBeouf Calls Marilyn Manson Video 'A Cool Diversion'". MTV News . Viacom. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  3. ↑ "'Transformers' Shia LaBeouf Teaming Up With Marilyn Manson (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter . July 1, 2011. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Karr, Dean (April 2, 2012). "Marilyn Manson Talks Favorite Villains, 'Antichrist Superstar,' Why Nothing's Shocking". Revolver . Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  5. ↑ Bucher, Chris (October 25, 2017). "Laney Chantal, Jeordie White's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com . Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  6. ↑ Chillingworth, Alec (September 6, 2016). "The 10 most underrated Marilyn Manson songs". Metal Hammer . Archived from the original on September 7, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Marilyn Manson: New Album Title Announced". Blabbermouth.net . September 2, 2011. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Rao, Mallika (August 31, 2011). "'Born Villain': The Shia LaBeouf/Marilyn Manson Collaboration Has Arrived (VIDEO)". HuffPost . AOL. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  9. ↑ Stephens, Niki (August 30, 2011). "Marilyn Manson and Shia LaBeouf created a short film? What? When?". JoBlo.com . Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Lecaro, Lina (September 13, 2011). "Marilyn Manson's Born Villain Tracks: We Heard Them First". LA Weekly . Voice Media Group. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  11. ↑ Robinson, Joe (September 1, 2011). "Marilyn Manson Works With Shia LaBeouf on 'Born Villain' Video". Loudwire . Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  12. ↑ O'Donnell, Kevin (September 1, 2011). "Marilyn Manson Drops Scary, LaBeouf-Directed Video". Spin . Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  13. ↑ Cubarrubia, RJ (September 1, 2011). "Marilyn Manson Debuts Video Collaboration with Shia LaBeouf: Watch". Billboard . Archived from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  14. ↑ Barshad, Amos (September 1, 2011). "Shia LaBeouf Directed a Marilyn Manson Video". Grantland . Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  15. ↑ Raymer, Miles (September 2, 2011). "Apparently I like Shia LeBeouf's new Marilyn Manson video". Chicago Reader . Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  16. ↑ Rosenberg, Axl (September 2, 2011). "Marilyn Manson and Shia LaBeouf Now Competing to See Who Can Be a Bigger Putz". MetalSucks . Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  17. ↑ Feldman, Max (May 10, 2012). "Marilyn Manson: Born Villain". PopMatters . Archived from the original on July 1, 2018.
  18. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (September 1, 2011). "Shia LaBeouf's 'Born Villain' Video Continues Marilyn Manson's Love Affair With Alejandro Jodorowsky". IndieWire . Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  19. ↑ Pasbani, Robert (September 1, 2011). "Marilyn Manson's Shitty (Shia LeBouf Directed) Music Video Now Available For Your Viewing Displeasure". Metal Injection. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.