Synopsis

A seemingly ordinary blind date brings Fred Armisen's character and Charlyne Yi's character together in a diner, where an easy rapport develops over sweets, conversation, and shared oddness. The romantic mood changes after Yi's character disappears into the bathroom and returns in a terrifyingly altered state. What follows is a gory, deadpan encounter involving dismemberment, an apparent transformation, and a masked figure. Despite the horror-movie violence, the story closes on an unsettling version of romance, with the pair apparently united.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released in April 2009 as a visual companion to the title track from Man Man's 2008 album, also called "Rabbit Habits."

• Fred Armisen, Charlyne Yi, and Martin Starr appear in the video. Yi helped connect Armisen with the project and worked out the dialogue for their diner scene with him.

• The production was made on an extremely limited budget, reportedly around one-tenth of what the video team would normally have had available. Much of the shoot used a run-and-gun approach, with the crew securing some locations through permits and simply appearing at others.

• Armisen's scenes were filmed on the day after Thanksgiving. He reportedly flew in, completed the diner and movie-theater material, and left again almost immediately.

• The shoot was completed over two 12-hour days, with the production relying heavily on personal connections and favors.

• Martin Starr was enthusiastic about playing a character whose real face is never shown. The concealment became part of the video's deliberately strange, short-film-like presentation.

• Contemporary coverage often described the story as a teenage-werewolf romance or a B-movie horror homage. Man Man frontman Honus Honus offered a different interpretation, saying the male character was not a werewolf but a savage, feral person.

• Honus Honus wanted the video to contrast with the song's relatively upbeat musical surface while preserving the emotional weight of its lyrics.

• The video includes a cameo by the Ice Cream Man, an appearance highlighted in early coverage of the clip.

• The band initially reacted with surprise to the video's apparently happy ending. Honus Honus also noted that the conclusion remains questionable: the relationship may be affectionate, but Yi's character has put Armisen's character on a leash.