Vileness Fats

An aborted film project by The Residents, filmed between 1972 and 1976.

The script was never finished, and only two-thirds of this draft were filmed. Fourteen hours of footage were filmed by the time the project was abandoned, which later were adapted into two distinct versions: one direct-to-video called Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats? (30 minutes), released in 1984, and part of the Icky Flix DVD compilation (17 minutes), released in 2001.

It was supposed to tell the story of Vileness Fats, a village that is under attack by the Atomic Shopping Carts and The Bell Boys. The villagers count on Arf and Omega, conjoined twin brothers, to defend them. Steve, a religious leader for the village, has a Split Personality, the second one being that of Lonesome Jack, leader of The Bell Boys.

Even though the film never was finished, it became part of the mythology surrounding The Residents, with music and names of the film incorporated into other works, even featuring Arf and Omega in a live appearance. Also, the soundtrack created for the project was released.

Vileness Fats contains (or would have contained) examples of:

 * Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever: Atomic Shopping Carts
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall:
 * Conjoined Twins: Arf and Omega
 * Prop Recycling: The Atomic Shopping Carts and the Bell Boys' meat disguises appeared in the "Third Reich 'n' Roll" video.
 * No Name Given: The singer of Eloise in the nightclub. Some fans theorize about him being the N Senada that the Residents says it was a personal influence for them.
 * Split Personality: Steve/Lonesome Jack
 * Villain Song: Lonesome Jack singing the motivational "The Importance of Evergreen".