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Liverpool songstress Chanel Samson has recruited the frightening face of cult horror actor Laurence R Harvey to tell the story of her new single High Standards.
The video, which features the star of controversial psychological horror movie Human Centipede II as a master and accountant of evil deaths for Chanel’s dates is both disturbing and hilarious in equal measure.
LA native Chanel, who grew up only a stones throw from the movie studios in Burbank, California, counts musical theatre as one of her biggest influences and came to Liverpool to follow her dreams at LIPA.
Talking through her vision for the horror comedy video Chanel said: “I like to sing about things we don’t talk about enough in an honest and extreme way, to wake up the audience.
“We all have high standards in at least one area of our lives, and it’s how we deal with those expectations that make us happy or constantly deflated.
“The video is a coming of age story with a gruesome twist. I had an idea for introducing a zombie element, where I eat my dates because I’m not satisfied with their personalities.
“But when Laurence said he was up for acting in it alongside me, it took on a life of it’s own.
“You think Laurence’s character is just as evil as me or could kill me in the end, but it’s my zombie dates who exact their revenge.
“The video has strong humour elements with the gore, very much like Rocky Horror.”
Laurence said working with Chanel was a delight:
“What attracted me to the project was seeing Chanel’s earlier videos, and hearing her music – a mix of retro upbeat garage with a bubblegum punk pop curled lip. Both in the videos and the lyrics there’s wit and dark humour.
“One of the things about working in horror films, especially those with practical effects, is that they are light-hearted fun to work on. There’s something inherently childish about playing with latex and rubber hearts, and getting messy with fake blood. And this is certainly something Chanel recognises and responds to.
“Even though we had a lot to get done in a short period of time, Chanel’s own energy and sense of fun was infectious and kept everyone else’s energies up.
“Chanel was the centre of this maelstrom, and as director and star she obviously had a lot on her shoulders, but she was as interested in others and the ideas & touches they could bring to the scenes. She was always encouraging and interested in the creation of something special, rather than being overly protective of her concept or dictatorial about what had to be done.
“Working with Chanel was a delight, she is an absolute star!”
Chanel, 22, who is playing Threshold festival, described working with horror star Laurence Harvey as ‘a dream to work with’.
She said: “Laurence is such a funny guy, I just want to keep him in a little box and bring him out for jokes and skits.’
“He’s great actor and created a lot of funny improvisations, like his atonal piano solo in the heart-eating scene.”
“It’s great for horror fans to see that side of him.”
The LIPA Graduate, who is performing at the upcoming Threshold festival on April 1st, added: “Liverpool has become my spiritual home. Everybody is so welcoming and open, compared to other big cities.
“Liverpool has proved to be a real fertile creative ground and a great gigging scene to cut my teeth in.”
The video for High Standards starring Chanel and Laurence Harvey as a dastardly duo with murderous intentions is released on March 30 with the single available for download on Spotify here: https://play.spotify.com/artist/0bCEWudxiUYLr6JQvlRlsi