THE BROTHERS QUAY COLLECTION
PLOT-Several animated shorts by the ultra-surreal Quay Brothers, 1984-1993.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH IT-Anyone who has been fascinated by the band Tool's music videos should try to find this tape. The animation and feel of those videos was inspired by the work of the Quay brothers, identical twins from Philadelphia. This tape contains many of their short films, and they are filled with the most nightmarish and disturbing images you'll ever set eyes on. Their stop-motion cartoons are nothing short of astonishing in their precision, mood, and attention to detail. No film I can recall seeing has ever moved me the way these pieces do. The figures are usually old, crusty looking things with hollowed-out plastic dolls' heads, and they either have one eye or none at all. The Quays, in addition to using all kinds of gross-looking scrap metal, also employ what appears to be raw meat in many scenes. Weird stuff, to be sure, but those who can appreciate a fine painting or sculpture will be awestruck.
MEMORABLE SCENES-Just about every frame is haunting and freaky. Some of the images that have lingered in my mind are the pocketwatch with the meat inside, and the (real?) tarantula.
NOTES-The work of the brothers Quay is heavily influenced by Czech surrealist animator Jan Svankmajer, whose films are a wild combination of live action and animation. One of his best movies is FAUST, which has this really freaky "human marionette" theme. Check it out.