The local pub turns into a nightmarish ground zero in Max Mclachlan's entertainingly ghoulish promo for Liverpool rock band STONE. The video for I Gotta Feeling is a fun gross-out trip, following a group of patrons in a pub who morph into zombified monsters, once they have partaken in the pub's interesting range of mood-altering ales.As lead singer Finlay Power bemoans the state of toxic masculinity - with biting lyrics such as 'Shout out to the writers of Peaky Blinders/You inspired the new age of wankers' - Mclachlan draws from a love of old horror movies, the practical effects literally come spewing out of the cast and band.There are noteworthy performances all round - but main character Hugo Hamlet is a true standout, completely embodying the concept and the spirit of drunk-zombie madness. This is made all the more visceral with the grainy, saturated look captured on 16mm by Owain Morgan, harking back to old Romero films and the zeitgeist that these events captured.In the end, the barmaid, who is clearly no stranger to dealing with monstrous men, splashes the one thing that can set everything straight: a glass of water."I wanted to take the concept of toxic behaviour and make it physical," explains Mclachlan. "Show it growing out from the inside of one drunk lad and spread, possessing a pub."
Rob Ulitski - 26th July 2023