Affentanz – Hunter
A man stalks the forest with the calm assurance of one who is control, superior by dint of evolution and intellect, the cold metal of the rifle in his hand confirming his position as unassailable as he stalks his prey, an unsuspecting deer in the glade, yet the hunter is also hunted by another who creeps out of the shadows behind him.
Waking an uncertain time later beaten, bloodied and stripped, the hunter is now in the position of being pursued; at first thinking he is alone, he is not the only one who has been ambushed, and while they would have described what they came to the forest to do as a game, sportsmanlike, this is now the deadliest game with them as the expendable prey.
Directed by Cyprian Hercka and serving as a music video to the track of the same name by the German electronic band Affentanz (“Monkey Dance”), Hunter sees a turning of the dinner tables in an otherwise peaceful wooded, pastoral setting as the two unnamed men (Fritz Fenne and Thomas Brandlmeier) are stripped of the trappings of masculine prowess and reduced to the same status as the frightened animals.
Recalling the similar works of Carpenter Brut, the music video as short film, the repetitive dance track with its whispered vapid vocals is forgettable, but with an ill-advised yet unavoidable foraging for forest berries leading to a hallucinogenic interlude before the inevitable conclusion of justified revenge by the guardians of the forest, the film is more interesting and satisfying than the bland song it promotes.
Affentanz – Hunter will be available on the Arrow platform from Friday 6th December
