Rozz William’s set design is amazing as expected. Collages of the apocalypse surround rooms and they are even read from a truly unholy book. Rozz’s art is easily identifiable as it is piercingly full of taboos. Pig is also easily the most lively of Rozz’s art(for more of his art checkout the book "Art of Rozz Williams : From Christian Death to Death") as it is his only film.
I think that Rozz Williams and Nico B. may owe a small debt to auteurs of the past. Luis Buñuel (Un Chien Andalou), Jean Cocteau (Blood of a Poet), Maya Deren (Meshes of the Afternoon), and Kenneth Anger (Fireworks) to name a few. Pig is easily able to hold its own with these masterpieces. I have yet to see any other recent short films worthy of this recognition (unless you count the first 15 minutes of Elias Merhige’s Begotten).
Pig in its entirety is one bad (or good) surrealistic dream. Body mutilation, head bandaged sign language, and atmospheric car rides stick in your mind long after the film is over. This is a world I would enjoy visiting if I had the opportunity and nerve to do so. I am sure Rozz Williams did as he committed suicide (April Fool’s 1998) shortly after Pig’s completion.
The musical score of Pig is similar to that of Rozz William’s music projects (Christian Death, Shadow Project, etc). Ambient sounds and noise perfectly compliment the film’s nihilistic and detached tone. Obviously something you would expect of Rozz Williams. The score becomes especially intense in a scene that continuously spins around in circles in a room in the abandoned house. Hitler also makes a couple auditory appearances.
Pig is a film that is recommended reviewing for everyday of the week. When I watch it I can’t help to think what Rozz Williams could have created cinema wise in years to come. Rozz admittedly used Pig as a way to exorcise and transfer his inner demons. In real life I don’t think he accomplished this.(his suicide is an indicator of that) Instead he created a transgressive masterpiece.
This PIG is the good PIG. The other is not.
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