With very different effect, George Barber in his 1985 video Absence Of Satan
re-forms the mumbo jumbo of low-brow commercial cinema and reveals the
absurdity of the triggers that make us afraid or excited in the
horror/action genres. Barber approach is brilliant and simple. He re-edits
unrelated moments to have equal weight. The edits suggest a continuum that
of course isn’t there. Instead of narrative we are left with effect without
meaning. A beautiful woman screams at something unseen off-camera which
suggests a narrative which remains unfulfilled. Her scream in context would
be a trigger of emotion; here we just see it as the device it is. A heavy
soundtrack, fast edits, close up concentration on apparent significance to
create atmosphere instead unleash a wonderful surreal reworking of cinematic
narrative and cliché. How we are lead to see the mechanics of narrative film
as effect is shown isolated from cause. Illusion is undone and we are
re-educated in the way we see.
