Another Walk on the Dark Side

Posted by E

Monday, September 8, 2008

He squirms uncomfortably in his chair, tight bonds wrapped around his arms holding him steady in place. His face is apprehensive, yet resigned to the fate that both he and the viewer knows await him. Legs quiver with nervous energy as expectation gives way to bubbling fear, a knowledge of forthcoming horror and pain concluded only by the termination of his own life.

He knows these things are coming and knows full well that these actions are being recorded for the sake of others, whether it be for warning, for propaganda or for ghoulish entertainment, his final moments will be etched into memory and made available for all to dwell in. His death is not a private matter, but an event shared by all who choose to view this film. But do not weep too deeply for his fate, he sealed it on his own by his own hand and actions.

The man laid bare before us ultimately chose his own fate. Through his own decisions he found himself bound to this iron chair. His terminal moments will be spent in quiet reflection of the lives he has chosen to extinguish or complicate.

The video in question was created by Los Negros, a narco-military unit borne as an offshoot of the Sinaloa Cartel. It exists for the purpose of sending warning to a rival group, Los Zetas, for the killing of multiple people in Acapulco in February of 2007, an act considered by the police to be a "settling of scores".

The video begins with a message in Spanish, "Do something for your country, kill a Zeta!". The man is bound in only his underwear, writing covering most of his body, including the name of the leader of the Zetas branded across his leg.

The bloodied and obviously beaten man stammers through a confession, his voice echoing on the cold walls; a hollow reprise to a voice nearly bereft of life. He weakly continues his discussion, stealing occasional glances at the unblinking eye which stares relentlessly and unaffected.

This hollow echo is soon followed by the metallic creak of the chair, as his shaking legs intensify their actions. Soon the room fills with the muffled sound of music in another room, perhaps meant to hide the noises which may soon ensue.

Our victim isn't certain what fate awaits him, only that final judgment lays mere moments from now. The music's beat doubtless matches the accelerating heartbeat of the troubled man, who continues to speak. He knows that each moment spent speaking is another moment spent alive.

The camera cuts and soon we're back. He seems more haggard, worn down, stripped of whatever optimism still resided within him. We are not to know what has transpired since the cut, but it is plain to the viewer that it was unpleasant.

His legs take on a more spasmodic countenance as his inevitable climax doubtless approaches. The camera, cold and fixated upon his face now shows a man beaten in more ways than one. Whereas before he was staring directly into its soulless lid, his head now dangles, staring downward, further indication of his slipping humanity.

Another cut and now his speech begins to take on a more desperate tone. His restraints cause him considerable discomfort, and he begins struggling to maintain his composure, his breathing fast becomes shallow. For the first time we become aware of multiple people in the room with him, unseen but heard, a chorus of mumbled voices spilling forth amongst the cacophonous din of movement.

The camera cuts again and now we can see another person in frame with the victim, though we see only an arm and a single hand, clad in a latex glove. The man with the gloved hand asks our victim a question, and finding himself displeased with the answer punches the restrained man in the jaw. Another question, another strike, continuing on, the music spilling from the other room taking on a more cheerful tone as the mood in the room darkens.

After the third strike, his legs quiver into a frenzied overdrive, nervous apprehension seizing control of the victim's body. The appointed hour draws near and he can sense it with each passing second. Pallor turning ashen, he struggles to let loose what will be his final soliloquy.

Another cut and now we see that execution is imminent. Two men are in the frame now behind the victim, one affixing a leather strap around his neck, the other holding a pair of white pipes, combining them together to fashion a crude garotte.

Once affixed they move to begin the strangulation. In a moment of sheer intestinal fortitude, the victim looks directly to the camera as he feels the garotting begin. He stares down the accusatory eye of malevolence seated across from him, an act of powerful defiance, as if to say "You can take my life, but you cannot take my soul".

Strangulation commences and the viewer is left with one fleeting moment of the victims eyes beginning to bulge from the pressure before the camera cuts away. One final cut occurs and the now headless corpse of the victim is displayed in the chair before a warning is burned across the screen, naming the head of the Zetas as the next intended victim.


For those who have been with us for awhile, you may have noticed that articles like this get written by me from time to time, usually focusing on some particularly nasty little bit of video I've come across on the net. If you find yourself put off by this kind of ghoulish content, I apologize. I do my best not to be exploitative with this pieces. I am merely trying to present them as I see them.

Videos such as this serve as an excellent reminder that no matter how dismal or dreary our everyday lives may seem, our petty concerns pale in comparison to the world unleashed on others. I watch these horrors comforted in no small part by the fact that they are not being perpetrated upon me.

It sounds selfish, and I'm sure that it is, but facts are facts. I trudge through life and whine internally about my own indulgent concerns, as do all of us. But seeing the frailty of life and the fleeting nature of our own mortality helps to center me, to force me to recognize a world far greater than I can imagine, horrific in its brutality and breathtaking in its beauty, all in one moment.

I write these articles usually as a means of dealing with my own pent up hostilities and anxieties. They almost always come after a period of relative inactivity on my part. Whatever minimal concerns occupy my mind begin to constrict the flow of ideas within my mind. The concepts still appear, but the words elude me.

Dark pieces such as this help me to refocus my creative energies, to balance my mind between its light and dark halves. I strive to be entertaining and whimsical, but sometimes the nature of existence slowly begins to decompose that aspect of my personality.

I apologize for this self indulgent postscript. I appreciate any and all who come to share in whatever the hell it is myself and the rest of our team scribble across the multitudinous webs. Knowing that we entertain is quite a reward.

I guess this preceding rant can be summed up in the following:

If you come for the humor, stay for the darkness.
If you come for the darkness, stay for the humor.
Either way, I hope we give you something to enjoy.


Should you wish to view the video, you can do so here.