Synopsis

Matt Johnson is strapped into a chair and carried down an Amazonian river, transforming the song into a surreal travelogue of danger, disorientation, and hostile surroundings. He moves through dense jungle, chaotic transport, and stark interior spaces before arriving at a mission-like church, where he is surrounded by hay and set alight. The video's dreamlike progression mirrors the song's themes of desire, obsession, and emotional contamination, leaving the apparent execution ambiguous.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was created as part of Infected: The Movie, an ambitious visual project that supplied a separate film for every track on The The's 1986 album.

• Johnson's opening image of being carried downriver was conceived with the feverish adventure atmosphere of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo in mind.

• The Amazon footage was shot in and around Iquitos, Peru. The production used local Indigenous guides during the jungle shoot.

• The Infected project was financed with an unusually large advance of about GBP350,000 from CBS Records, reflecting Johnson's decision to promote the album through cinema-length video rather than conventional live appearances.

• The completed film was later presented on television, including MTV's 120 Minutes, helping establish Infected as an early example of the visual album format.