The singer stalks his prey and engages in a blood-soaked romp.
Adam Levine is the opposite of sexy in Maroon 5's new "Animals" video.
On its own, the song's lyrics manage to objectify and degrade women. Paired with a blood-soaked video, it's downright disturbing.
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A lyrical sampling: "Baby I'm preying on you tonight/Hunt you down/Eat you alive/Just like animals. Maybe you think that you can hide/I can smell your scent for miles/Just like animals."
We understand a good metaphor, but there's just something about comparing a woman – one which Levine is sexually interested in, by the way – to prey just doesn’t sit right. With feminism and human rights at the forefront of national consciousness (see: Emma Watson's passionate #HeForShe United Nations speech; also: the horrifying invasion of privacy faced by female celebrities who've had their private and personal photos stolen), the timing of this single could not have been worse.
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Then there's the video. Starring Levine's new bride Behati Prinsloo, the clip shows Levine as a butcher, chopping meat, using animal carcasses for punching bags, stalking his prey and, eventually, finding his way into her bed, getting naked and covered in blood with her. The video closes on Levine, standing in the rain outside Prinsloo's window. Was it all a dream? Probably. But someone tell that to the pit that's been forming in our stomach over the last four-and-a-half minutes.
Directed by Samuel Bayer, the video does successfully evoke emotion – just not any good ones.
Bayer previously teamed up with Maroon 5 on their "Payphone" video, but has also worked with a stunningly wide array of artists including Nirvana, Justin Timberlake and Marilyn Manson, among many others.
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And while "Payphone" had all the drama of a high octane action flick, "Animals" seems to be more in Bayer's wheelhouse. Outside of directing music videos, his only feature film credit to date is 2010's slasher remake A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Who knew Adam Levine could be such a terrifying Halloween inspiration?
