I was out on New Years Eve 2005 at a club that had several rooms including a small screening room that was showing weird short films and music videos. We didn't sit for very long in this screening room but during the respite from dancing I watched this music video. Opening with a scene of two "gangstas" trying to pick up two black women the film sees their sports car pushed out of the way by a limousine as long as a football pitch. At this point the music started and Aphex Twin himself starts to dance to entice the women into his car. As they are drawn to him, things begin to change and mutate.
It didn't help that I had already had about 3 double gin & tonics by this time, but the nature of the video drew me in with the hip hop standards we see in music videos all the time before breaking them with some horrifically impressive effects. Although the same idea has been done before, I still though it was effective here. The opening scenes are foulmouthed and funny, establishing the genre we think we are in. The arrival of Aphex Twin starts an impressive dance scene that continues as the women are twisted and moulded into his image. On one level it is interesting because it at least does something different with the video genre but generally it works because it is grossly engaging. Cunningham could be accused of being twisted for the sake of being twisted but it continues to work here. The dancing is as good as hip hop videos generally are with Aphex Twin himself being a very good mover, but it is the effects that stick in the mind for ages. The masks are impressive, looking as "natural" as such images can and being so imaginative and horrific that I never found myself looking for the joins or the makeup, but only wondering what sort of mind sees this sort of thing when asked to make a music video.
Overall a disturbing and enjoyable video that plays over a strong track. Twisting the hip hop video, the effects are great while Cunningham has enough in him to produce a video that otherwise matches the standards of the genre with quality dancers. Well worth a look if you get the chance.