VIDEO REVIEW : Having Fun in Outer Space With Jacksons Is a ‘Scream’

Relax. After the horrifying vain theatrical promo clip for Michael Jackson’s upcoming “HIStory” album, it was reasonable to fear the worst for anything related to the project. But the video for “Scream,” an unedited version of which was previewed Monday night at a Sony Records album release party in Los Angeles, is not the worst.

We’re not sure what will be edited out for television, but in the complete, almost 5-minute version we see Michael and sister Janet in what must be a tempting fantasy for them, blissfully cut off from the world as they hover in a sleek spaceship. Director Mark Romanek gives the whole thing a striking, slightly creepy feeling in muted black and white, complete with Fred Astaire-meets-Stanley Kubrick zero-gravity dancing.

In truth, Janet is more the star with her new tough-gal look (think Diana Ross’ muscular post-disco style), instructing big bro in how to tell the world where to get off, even invoking the f-word. She snarls, grabs her breasts, flips the finger at the camera and, perhaps most controversially, stands over a toilet like a man.

But the real f-word here is fun . The revelation comes in a couple of too-brief bits of the siblings horsing around over a game of space pong, with Michael--for a fleeting second--actually seeming natural and at ease. He hasn’t been so at home since “Captain Eo.”

We knew he belonged in outer space.