Rubber's Lover

Look, while there's a lot that could be said about the content of this film, all I'll say is that it was surprising to find it uploaded on YouTube, even if the upload was age-restricted.

I was lucky to even find the time today to watch something feature-length, but I was unlucky that the film I picked was Rubber's Lover. It had been on my watchlist for ages, and it was directed by the filmmaker who did 964 Pinocchio (Shozin Fukui), which is a divisive and confronting film that I ended up appreciating more than I anticipated. I might even feel like calling that one a good movie, in some ways.

I can appreciate Rubber's Lover a little, but not nearly as much. It's stripped down and low-budget as a horror movie, and tries to work within its limitations. To some extent, it works, because I think it kind of sets out what it wanted to do. I more feel that what it wanted to do wasn't enough for something that was an hour and a half long; that or it did actually have loftier aspirations that weren't well explored or communicated.

Option B or C or whatever is, of course, that I'm a dummy, but I think Rubber's Lover was actually a bit dumb instead. I can't muster up hate when it's got the kind of atmosphere it does, and when some of the gross moments are effectively gross, but it all felt a little meandering and maybe even just the tiniest bit lazy, at the end of the day.

Rubber's lover is Fukui's second movie, a prequel to Pinnochio 964. The plot (from what I can gather from reading other reviews and summaries of the movie off the internet as well as my visual interpretation of the movie since I don't speak Japanese and my copy isn't subtitled) concerns a group of scientists working to unleash the psychic potential of human beings. For some reason this involves injecting them repeatedly with a drug dispensed by a huge cannonlike needle, and then strapping a device to their heads similar to a VR helmet. The company they work for decides the project is a loss and sends a secretary to tell them the news of the project's shutdown. The poor scientists react rather badly to the news, and in a desperate attempt to make a final breakthrough, subject one of their own ranks to the drug and device. He responds well so they put him in an isolating rubber suit that deprives him of all sensory input but that which is governed by the experiment. The results are succesful and much mayhem ensues. Thus begins Rubber's Lover.

Shot in black and white, primarily in one location, this is a perfect example of low or no budget but high concept film making. A feeling of isolation permeates thoughout, perfectly controlled by the director's choice of angles and locations. The outdated technology the scientists are using isolates the movie from any specific date in time. The character's reactions to the events happening around them only amplify the feeling of isolation. The effects are gruesome, the editing is kinetic, the story is bizarre. Fans of Tetsuo: The Iron Man will love it as both can easily be compared at the most shallow levels. It is, however, an amazing film that stands on it's own strange island in cyberspace, far removed from Tsukamoto's film. Highly recommended, not for the squeamish.

If Rubber's Lover was meant to be understood and fully appreciated, It fell short. I was intrigued by the camera angles, technological props, and trying to find the storyline. This cyberpunk, art house, music video type spectacle, tired me out and seemed a lot longer than the posted 91 minutes. After considerable attempts to understand this movie, I surrendered. If I was at the theater, I would have left early. This movie brings up memories of David Lynch's Eraserhead and Croenenberg's Scanners. If this was a film school assignment in which the assignment was to make the weirdest movie you can think up, this was probably the winner. Not my thing, maybe yours.

This is another one in a long line of typical Japanese black-and-white film-student-project-gone-wrong pretentious wannabe-deep-but-it's-not pseudo-surrealistic piece of crap masquerading as "disturbing horror." A never-ending bout of morons screaming for no reason and just "freaking out" is what you are in for with this film.

Of course, any movie like this will attract countless reviews speaking of how "briliant" the director is, how "disturbing" the film's "message" was (bwhahaha!) and a long string of steamy nuggets of self-delusional insight, but what it comes down to is this: low budget black and white boring inanity with lots of stupid screaming that will bore you to the verge of tears.

If you're looking for an actual movie with plot that will entertain you, this is not it.

Much of this movie has the feel of a Tsukamoto (Tetsuo,Vital,A Snake of June) film, but the differences in story and plot have great distinctions. To save time and for the sake of your interest I will not re-summarize the film, but tell you what to expect. This film is almost as vivid and has as many common traits as Tetsuo, though with a different theme. For all of my friends, the sheer amount of screaming was unbearable, but it really is necessary. Effects weren't flashy, but they suited well. Acting was fantastic (only a real actor will wear one of those rubber suits). Overall, a great movie that will certainly make you perceive many things in a new way from now on, which I think is a goal that more films should strive to achieve. Not for the faint of heart, so watch at your own risk. If you enjoyed Rubber, you may like 964 Pinocchio, also by Shozin Fukui.