Rubber Johnny

This is a 7 minute short film by Chris Cunningham, about a shape-shifting, mutant child named Johnny, who is kept in a basement with only his dog and his imagination for company.

It has also been suggested that Johnny is merely a hallucinating drug addict, because at one point in the film you can see him snort a line of white powder.

However, the original concept was for a video of a raver morphing as he danced, which eventually evolved into the concept of a music video/short film about a mutant child keeping himself occupied.

While incredibly disturbing, it's definitely worth a few watches. Once the initial shock of the images wears off, a vastly creative video shows itself through all the creepiness.

Filmed almost entirely in night-vision, the film has a grainy, documentary feel to it, which is why upon first watching it, some people concluded it was actual footage of a mutant.

With original music by Aphex Twin (inserted into the film as a remix done by the director himself) the latter part of the video does more resemble a music video than a documentary, and you'll almost certainly find yourself watching the last 2 or 3 minutes again.

In all, disturbing and unforgettable. Not for the easily scared or sensitive.

RUBBER JOHNNY is a short film by acclaimed music video director Chris Cunningham. It is a strangely emotional film about a deformed subhuman that does, something. I don't know what he does, it's a little difficult to describe. It could be interpreted as dancing, and indeed, it is pretty much the only thing it could remotely be, but there is something more elaborate at work here. He may be stoned. The film can be easily taken as a music video, but I think that to call it that would be too easy. One could easily dismiss it as Chris Cunningham showing off his prosthetic morphing techniques, but they are far too simple to be shoved off as such. There is a story here, but we are given the bare minimum of what the underlying theme is, which is boredom. Or maybe it's loneliness. What I think is especially unique about this video is the lack of any sort of purpose. It simply tells of an apparent event. There appears to be some kind of theme involving male genitalia, with the title, RUBBER JOHNNY, and the fact that the title is marked on an erect penis. The prosthetics on display here are pretty abstract and disgusting, but in a fascinating and unique way. Chris Cunningham is great because he can take something popular in our culture and completely twist and distort it in a way that allows it to be the same popular thing, but the viewer will have a completely different feeling or opinion about it. Just look at his video for Aphex Twin's WINDOWLICKER. He takes the female body and shows it in a different way that is original and simple so that they remain in the same form the viewer was into before, however, because of the way he altered it the viewer gets repulsed and even very frightened by it now. The music video WINDOWLICKER was, in away, an act of protest and rebellion. As a result, I consider today to be among the most shocking music videos ever made. However, RUBBER JOHNNY is also a protest, but on a deeper level. The paranormal idea is so attractive in our way of life that we have caused culture revolving around aliens and humans to be a funny dream. What if somebody treated the idea in an honest and original way? The creature in this film may very well be human, but he is certainly not somebody that we would ever have any interest of allowing him to adapt to our ways. Chris Cunningham is able to take things a step further by adding a sexual element into the idea of RUBBER JOHNNY. The enlarged penis of the creature is another step in the direction of the fantasies that many people have discussed about having some sort of sexual or bodily interest in otherworldly beings. The film, instead, dares you to try and think about sex while watching this horrifying movie. I think that if Chris Cunningham continues to make daring and creative films like these, people could really look back on his work after the world has continued to grow and alter itself and realize that he had ideas that none of us have ever thought honestly about. Do visual effects really have to be complicated and drawn out to be good? Is the female body really a more beautiful thing that the male body? Are the ideas behind aliens really as fascinating as we've led ourselves to believe? It's these kinds of questions that make films like RUBBER JOHNNY work.

the hard back book that the DVD arrives inside is worth the price alone. if you want to see genuinely grotesque and yet alluring photo realistic images then this is a good place to start.

i think it's safe to assume that Photoshop or some other high end editing software was used to manipulate the images, but it's also obvious that a great deal of care has gone into the lighting and angles used whilst photographing the model.

the quality of the imagery really is outstanding and i think it fair to say i've never seen anything like it before.

i know it's odd to talk about a book on a film review site but it has to be pointed out that the masterwork here is in the printed form rather than in the moving image.

as for the 'movie' itself, well, it's good but it is little more than a music promo for Aphex Twin. not a bad thing by any standards but understandably a shame when even a 30 minute 'film' with a little more narrative would have been greatly appreciated.

a full length feature film from Chris Cunningham, when it finally arrives, will certainly be a disturbing, spectacular journey if this or any of his other video masterpieces are to go by.

This short feature was made by creature special effects artist Chris Cunningham as a personal project. Cunningham had previously worked with Aphex Twin and so they contributed to this project - resulting in a mix between narrative and music video, similar to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." The video begins with a close-up night-vision shot of an alien creature named Rubber Johnny. A doctor seems to be talking to him - asking what's wrong, if he wants his mother, etc. Rubber Johnny seems incapable of speaking like a human and can only emit high-pitch frequency noises.

The next scene shows Johnny in a wheelchair, his enormous head leaning backwards. His small pet dog watches as Johnny suddenly comes to live in an array of dazzling special effects shots and "dances" (to some extent) to Aphex Twin.

The music is interrupted twice by Johnny's father opening the door into the basement and muttering unintelligible curses at him.

My first thought after this was over: What a bizarre feature! It actually might disturb some people - it's kind of unsettling and uncomfortable to watch. Also, as Johnny dances he occasionally flies full-speed into see-through glass, leaving remnants of his distorted face on the objects.

Cunningham is quite an original guy - I don't know if it was the drugs doing all the talking or he's simply that far out, but I've never seen anything like this before.

By the way, for those interested, it is freely available to view on YouTube.com, and is also available for purchase on DVD through Cunningham's official website.

Since Aphex Twin (who is a solo artist BTW, Richard D. James) released "Drukqs" in 2001, there has always been the Rubber Johnny video but as a short. Now that Cunningham has completed a 7 minute short it is just a closer look at this completely insane, body twisting freak. And Aphex comes through with minimal and effective sound design. The music is comes from the release "Drukqs" (somewhat modified) but it, as always, is a perfect combination of Cunningham and James. There is a 40 page book of photographs and drawing as well I believe to coincide with the short. It is actually being played cinemas in England and perhaps, at some point, it will play somewhere in USA...