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DVD REVIEW |
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by Pamela Torres |
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Released on DVD by Unearthed Films, RUBBER'S LOVER is a 1996 cyberpunk sci-fi nightmare
written and directed by Shozin Fukui. Shot
entirely in stark black and white and wrapped in futuristic S&M
bondage, it is an underrated art film with a plot line resembling David
Cronenburg's SCANNERS and the shocking flesh/metal aesthetic of Shinya
Tsukamoto's TETSUO: THE IRONMAN. |
The movie takes place in a secret warehouse known only as The
Centre. Here, a pair of scientists named Motomiya (Sosuke Saito) and Hitosubashi (Norimizu Ameya) conducts a series of cruel and
lethal experiments on human test subjects, including members of their
own medical staff. Aided by a naughty slaphappy nurse named Akari (Mika Kunihiro), they force patients to wear
skintight rubber diving suits to suffocate the skin, inject the victims'
blood with ether, and use gigantic speakers to bombard the eardrums with
unbearably high decibels of sound. The purpose of all this was to unlock
an individuals telepathic abilities. Unfortunately such torture only
caused the brain to hemorrhage and explode. Even worse, Motomiya and
Hitosubashi snatched the research plans away from their former partner
Shimika (Yota Kawase) and force enough ether
into his veins to turn him into a paranoid, jabbering junkie. There is
one uncomfortable but fascinating scene where he foams at the mouth and
imagines seeing insects crawling all over his body. |
Sure enough, the corporation responsible for funding the unorthodox
project sends an innocent secretary named Kiku (Nao) to officially shut down the operation. To say
the least, it doesn't go very well. In a desperate attempt to salvage
results, Hitosubashi mounts a monstrous Digital Direct Drive onto
Shimika's head and straps him down on a table while Motomiya (being the
arrogant loose cannon that he is) kidnaps poor Kiku and holds her
hostage. I have to warn readers here that the latter half of RUBBER'S LOVER includes a brutal rape scene that is
hard to watch. After enduring what seemed to be hours of unforgiving
trauma, Kiku and Shimika form post-modern Adam & Eve bond and take
revenge against the despicable bastards who abused them. Shimika is
granted enough psychic energy to pulverize a man's muscles and sinews
into a pile of dust. During the film's mind-reeling climax, there is a
confrontation between him and his former partners shot in a dizzying
strobe light effect which shows glimpses of blood vessels popping
everywhere and biceps being horribly scorched by electrical currents.
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