Rubber Johnny

Rubber Johhny is the latest effort from British film maker, Chris Cunningham. Cunningham has extensively worked with electro music legends, Aphex Twin, together they have created some of the most disturbing music videos ever, including 'Come to Daddy'.

Rubber Johnny is a disturbing trip into the mind of a isolated, disfigured misfit who is locked in a basement. His only company is a dog.

Using rapid editing and distorted camera work, Cunningham has created a visceral nightmare which manages to shock during it's six minute running time. Cunningham obviously has a lot of confidence when it comes to combining music with vision, and this is Rubber Johhny's genius. The film will undoubtedly leave a sick taste in your mouth, but the running time is disappointing. I was left wanting a lot more.

Please give Chris Cunningham a big budget so he can create a 90 minute nightmare.

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.

I love music and visual synchronization. Some may compare this to cheesy Hollywood movie horror films, but also keep in mind that not every person finds the "shock" video/audio effect cheesy. I love it.

Rubber Johnny is not an amazing piece, but certainly accomplishes it's goal of being a very elaborate 6 minute blitz of style. One almost grows a fear of Johnny in the beginning. Not only is he extremely grotesque, but his vocalizations almost sound inhuman. With his enormous bulbous head leaning over the back of his wheelchair and his insanely disturbing babble fits, Johnny makes a hell of an impression right off the bat. Once the actual music portion of the video begins, the score intertwines with johnny's sick mind and together they mutate into one of the most fast-paced music/video progressions i've ever seen, and quite frankly, it initial impact is hard. Still, the distortion effect wears off eventually and you begin to wonder what else Cunningham will throw at you. About 10 seconds before the end of the video you are hit with some deranged visuals of Johnny, and i think those last seconds redeem the short to be worthy of what it is.

Wow. This has to be one of the finest pieces of non-feature film-making I have ever seen. The best way to describe would be: The baby from EraserHead having grown up and become professional dancer.

The opening scene is one of the creepiest things ever put to screen. I could barely even watch. It lessens once Aphex Twin's music kicks in, but then your fear is replaced by wonder at the truly incredible editing techniques and visual effects.

The whole things screams for Chris to do a feature film, a truly twisted and bizarre film in the style of the aforementioned EraserHead.

Also recommended: Windowlicker and Come To Daddy.

Chris Cunningham's works have shaped the music industry. He's probably the best and most influential music video director ever. He did videos for Aphex Twin, Madonna, Bjork, Portishead and many others, but now he is retired from industry. Now he works for himself.

His independence lets him to experiment a lot and to realize himself better. Chris's world is a strange, but interesting place and it can't be censored or cut. It is a thing to be examined. Once you got into it, you become a part of it, you see everything in an absolutely different way. Just try it.

"Rubber Johnny" is a 6-minute experimental short film and a 40 page book. All in one package, both absolutely genius. Some people say that book is too nasty and film is too short, but they are only half-right. Book is nasty, of course, but everything is not that simple in Cunningham's works. To see what's behind those scary pictures, you'll have to look deeper. I'm not gonna spoil you, you've got to find out yourself what's great about it.

But the real treasure is a short movie. It is frightening, disturbing, entertaining and amusing at once. The movie is shot on a simple home camera, but "Johnny" features some stunning visual effects. Believe me, it worth watching. "Rubber Johnny" is the fastest damn thing i've ever seen and the editing is something unspeakable. And, as a rule, it is deeper than you could ever imagine. It's like reading a good book: one must use his imagination to see the author's idea. In 6 minutes Chris puts a story witch could have been a full-length film. He shows a work of a true master: we're gonna be disturbed, entertained and (most important)we're gonna examine the depths of Johnny's character. And everything in 6 minutes! Unimaginable!

"Rubber Johnny" kind of movies may turn out to be a new form of art: 2000's are fast times and fast times require fast art. Not fast-created, but short-length, clever, entertaining and deep-minded. Chris Cunningham does it first (as usual) and he does it better than anyone in this world.