Underground Film Journal

Posted In » Online Cinema

John R. Hand Assumes Risk

By Mike Everleth ⋅ May 9, 2009

The above embedded video is one of those kinds of videos I stumble upon from time to time that despite enjoying a casual correspondence with its creator — in this case director John R. Hand — and, furthermore, despite said video drumming up a gazillion questions in my head, I think the video is better served by not having those questions answered.

Woman wrapped in plastic wrap and tied to a chair

It’s also the kind of video that if most normal people found a DVD on the street somewhere, decided to bring it home and popped it in the player only to watch this video, those people would probably call the police to try to find out what it’s all about. It’s an endearingly disturbing video that you keep watching because you know something extra freaky is eventually going to happen, but after it does you kinda wish you maybe had stopped yourself.

That said, this is a performance piece for the industrial band [user assumes risk] and the poor woman in the chair is Amanda Eddington, star of John R. Hand’s Scars of Youth, which goes even farther to prove how much of a trooper she is for Hand’s art.

Embedded below is another [user assumes risk] video by Hand. This is a more traditional performance. I’m an industrial music fan, but the stuff playing in this video is a little low and slow for me, but I was fascinated by the film screening on the wall. I can’t place it, but I’d like to know what it is. If you know, please leave a comment below.