Decoder (1984)

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Siskoid
William S. Burroughs puts his stamp of counter-culture approval on Decoder by appearing in Decoder, loosely based on his writings. This is a very German film about a fast food chain using specially-designed muzak to influence customers, and a punk kid (electronica musician F.M. Einheit, one of many musicians in the film) discovering it, fooling around with it, and turning it against the establishment. Visually, the film does what the music is supposed to be doing, which is throwing subliminals at you, quick glimpses of disturbing imagery (not for the squeamish, I don't think they're fake), while also borrowing amply from music video aesthetics. The acting is a little disaffected, which is justified in the kind of culture it's presenting, but it's still a drag. Interesting visuals and sounds aside, I don't think Decoder does much more than present its idea - there's little to engage as a story - though I am intrigued by the jaded policeman who would let the anarchists win, but as an establishment figure, must still pay the price for his passive complicity. There's something to that (and Bill Rice is one of the only true actors in the piece), but the film is too much of a Burroughsian collage to properly draw a line to it. 4 years 5 months ago