Synopsis

The Wombats perform inside a deliberately artificial romantic-comedy world where awkward attraction, melodrama, and sudden violence collide. Matthew Murphy plays the lovestruck narrator, surrounded by exaggerated situations that turn the song's references to soap operas and rom-coms into visual jokes. People are gunned down in the background, carrots appear as a literal response to the lyrics, and the band is presented through fast, chaotic edits and surreal effects. The closing shots expose the production itself, underlining the video's playful attack on predictable romantic storytelling.

Factoids & Trivia

• Matthew Murphy said the song was inspired by a bad romantic comedy he had seen. He combined that reaction with his own experiences at the time, turning romantic frustration into a parody of movie conventions.

• The video's visual humor often follows the lyrics literally. The references to killing the director, reading a newspaper, and seeing better in the dark are translated into deliberately obvious but absurd images.

• Its final exposure of the green-screen setup reinforces the central joke: the characters are trapped inside a manufactured rom-com, and the video eventually reveals the artificial machinery behind it.

• "Kill the Director" was first released as a single in 2007 and reached No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart. A later download and 7-inch reissue charted at No. 48.

• The song became part of the soundtrack of the British sitcom *The Inbetweeners*, alongside another Wombats track, "Moving to New York."