Well, the synopsis for Caterpillar made it sound cool, mentioning "industrial locations, a malfunctioning cyborg/android and a hulking metallic 'caterpillar' that stalks characters." All that crammed into a runtime of 32 minutes, done with a shoestring budget and trippy editing/visuals? It's not exactly what the doctor ordered, but it could well be what Web MD half-heartedly suggested, and I'd take that over nothing.
It's kind of just nonsense, though, and not in a way that evokes a certain feeling or sustains a certain atmosphere that could be called compelling or interesting. Caterpillar holds value for being a time capsule of city life in Japan during the 1980s and not much more. I liked seeing old fashion, technology, and vehicles. I didn't really care for the rest of it, outside the parts where characters zipped around really fast, but that stuff was done better in other weird Japanese films from around this time (namely, Tetsuo the Iron Man).
Caterpillar could've been five minutes and it would've been fine. No point would be put across here regardless of length, but something a little snappier would've been welcomed nonetheless. A couple of cool shots, and some interesting use of audio (though that does get grating by the end) can only give this so much by way of legs. It's just not a short that really did it for me.
