Born Villain is a surrealist horror short film directed by actor Shia LaBeouf in collaboration with singer Marilyn Manson. The film features a series of vignettes involving Manson's character cutting women's hair, a doctor inserting an eyeball into a woman's vagina, and characters reciting passages from William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Born Villain is sound-tracked by the Marilyn Manson song "Overneath the Path of Misery". A promotional trailer for the album of the same name (2012), Born Villain was conceived of after Manson and LaBeouf became friends at a concert by The Kills. In crafting the film, the duo drew inspiration from theology, Macbeth, and the films Un Chien Andalou (1929) and The Holy Mountain (1973). The short premiered at the L.A. Silent Theater on August 28, 2011; the screening could only be attended by people who had purchased copies of Campaign, a limited edition book by Manson, LaBeouf and Karolyn Pho. Upon release, the short received mixed reviews from critics. Some praised its power to disturb, while others found it dull. Born Villain has been made available for purchase on DVD. Background and development The idea for the film originated after Marilyn Manson and Shia LaBeouf struck up a friendship at a concert by The Kills. The actor said that he found the singer "frightening" as a teenager, and that he had "always been intrigued" by his band's work. LaBeouf offered to direct Manson's next music video; in order to convince him he was a competent director, LaBeouf screened for Manson his directorial collaboration with American rappers Kid Cudi and Cage, Maniac (2011). Impressed, Manson then commissioned LaBeouf to create a video for the band. LaBeouf further expanded upon the project's genesis in an interview on Live with Regis and Kelly, saying that he went to see Manson at his home in West Hollywood, California, which LaBeouf described as a large movie theater where Manson spends much of his time viewing films. LaBeouf said that he and Manson watched several films together there, and discussed the "really eccentric ideas" they had for their video collaboration. LaBeouf financed the film himself. It was inspired by William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel's surrealist short film Un Chien Andalou (1929), Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain (1973), and what LaBeouf described as "heavy theology." Laney Chantal, the wife of Marilyn Manson member Twiggy Ramirez, served as the makeup artist for the short. Manson