purchased the book. Born Villain was also screened at the Studio Servitu in Los Angeles, a club co-owned by Miss Crash, a fetish model who appears in the film. The short was screened there as part of an art show where Manson debuted songs from the album Born Villain, Ramirez performed a DJ set, and artist Nick Kushner displayed some of his paintings, including a portrait of Manson painted in the artist's blood. Critical reception and analysis Upon its release, several critics praised its power to disturb. Loudwire Joe Robinson called the short "the most interesting, challenging and envelope-pushing video Manson has made in a decade. It also may be his most disturbing, so watch at you own risk." Writing in Spin, Kevin O'Donnell said that Born Villain "proves the shock-rocker has not lost his ability to freak fans out" and is "sicker than ever," adding that the scene "where Manson pokes a needle into a woman’s cheek, might be the sickest thing ever captured in a music video. And the execution at the end is just plain terrifying." Lina Lecaro of LA Weekly felt that through the "arty, dramatic, salacious, [and] depraved" film Manson "reaffirms his 'shock rocker' status," though she was unsure of its meaning. For Billboard, RJ Cubarrubia reacted to the video by saying "Good news: Marilyn Manson is still terrifying". Some critics praised LaBeouf's abilities as a director. Amos Barshad of Grantland praised LaBeouf for his "directorial chops" and for crafting a "effectively, overwhelmingly gross" film. Barshad felt that Born Villains use of the Macbeth quote "[It] is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury. It signifies [sic] nothing" meant that the short was meaningless. The Chicago Reader Miles Raymer said that "Born Villain is pretentious garbage, and it's fantastic....I think LeBeouf [sic] just might have what it takes to be a great B-movie filmmaker. This thing is so big and overwrought and blind to its own ridiculousness that it does what all great exploitation movies do, which is to go past being so bad that it's good to become something so bad that it's art." Raymer also liked Born Villain better than Maniac. Other critics were less impressed. In Consequence of Sound, Chris Coplan found Born Villains visuals too similar to the singer's previous work. MetalSucks' Axl Rosenberg criticized the film's appropriation of pre-existing sources, feeling that Macbeth is unrelated to