You Turn Me into a Monster

You Turn Me into a Monster is a new short film / music piece which is difficult to reckon with, both in terms of its content and how it was produced. It’s two minutes in length and was produced using AI; the audio which accompanies the AI imagery of distorting monsters, blood and ghouls is of a very serious nature: statements spoken by perpetrators in abusive relationships -- I’m sure many readers are already feeling apprehensive. Having been collated by the filmmaker via an anonymous form and turned into a metal sounding musical piece by the sound artist, the visuals are supposed to add to the viscera of the already disturbing statements, and perhaps transform the testimony into an abstract expression of trauma; however, it’s not successful as far as the overall viewing experience goes. It’s an unpleasant watch on a multitude of levels (purposefully so), but the work leaves the spectator conflicted as to its intentions.

Primarily my issue is that, no matter where you position yourself on the political issue of artificial intelligence's use within art (I’m attempting to not allow my own opinions to get in the way), the fact of the matter is that – more often than not – it looks plasticy and textureless. Despite this, You Turn Me into a Monster is most certainly one of the more inventive ways in which I’ve seen AI be utilised, and how impactful the imagery is will really depend on the audience member. You could even argue that the uncanny sensibility of AI imagery is what adds to the film being unnerving, although it would take quite a lot to convince me.

The inclusion of recounted verbal manipulation and abuse is undeniably impactful however. In the abstract, it’s a strong idea and the music is executed with a high level of skill, creating a horribly oppressive atmosphere. You can also really admire the intention to give victims a voice within video art – it's the manner in which this voice manifests (in relation to the emblematic imagery on screen) wherein issues potentially arise. For instance, I do seriously question how much involvement those who submitted the quotes had in the piece, and specifically whether they were aware it would be turned into what it's been turned into. This has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the product itself which is to stand on its own, but you can’t help but wonder the reaction to the words being accompanied by AI imagery... whether they feel that their trauma has been properly represented and used for good. It is up to them and not me, and I’d be interested to know more.

The video art is incredibly provocative and that’s definitely something to admire in and of itself. The serious subject matter it contains is also something that should very much be explored through artistic expression, either to simply represent the experience or provide solace in some way to those who have experienced it. But what this short film proves to be is a difficult and polarising piece, yet one which holds potential ideas for something even more powerful.