Rubber's Lover
Encyclopedia
Rubber's Lover is cult filmmaker Shozin Fukui's
1996 follow-up to 964 Pinocchio
. Like its predecessor, it is an underground cyberpunk
horror
, with tense atmosphere, alarming visuals and graphic violence.
Often interpreted as a semi-prequel to 964 Pinocchio, Rubber's Lover details a clandestine group of scientists who conduct psychic experiments on human guinea pigs they take from the streets. Using brain-altering drugs, sensory deprivation and computer interfaces, they subject their patients to gruesome scientific tortures that often end in brutal death. After continued failure, they pursue one last project - which yields dangerous results.
Rubber's Lover can best be defined as Japanese
cyberpunk and industrial noir
, in the same vein as Tetsuo: The Iron Man
. Filmed in stark black and white, located in a setting of grim urban steel, steeped in machine aesthetic, driven by a kinetic style and empowered by a grinding metallic soundtrack, it draws on nightmarish horror and generates heavy fetishcore themes.
Shozin Fukui
is a Japanese movie director and screenwriter. According to the Internet Movie Database, he has produced two experimental shorts and two full length surrealistic movies . These four movies are widely available, having been reissued on DVD by Unearthed Films...
1996 follow-up to 964 Pinocchio
964 Pinocchio
964 Pinocchio is a 1991 Japanese cyberpunk film from filmmaker Shozin Fukui. It deals with the theme of brain-modified sex slaves as well as mental breakdowns in a hallucinogenic thrill ride.-Plot:...
. Like its predecessor, it is an underground cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, with tense atmosphere, alarming visuals and graphic violence.
Often interpreted as a semi-prequel to 964 Pinocchio, Rubber's Lover details a clandestine group of scientists who conduct psychic experiments on human guinea pigs they take from the streets. Using brain-altering drugs, sensory deprivation and computer interfaces, they subject their patients to gruesome scientific tortures that often end in brutal death. After continued failure, they pursue one last project - which yields dangerous results.
Rubber's Lover can best be defined as Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
cyberpunk and industrial noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
, in the same vein as Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a 1989 Japanese cyberpunk film by cult-film director Shinya Tsukamoto produced by Japan Home Video. This, his third film, is an extremely graphic but also strikingly-filmed fantasy shot in the same low-budget, underground-production style as his first two films...
. Filmed in stark black and white, located in a setting of grim urban steel, steeped in machine aesthetic, driven by a kinetic style and empowered by a grinding metallic soundtrack, it draws on nightmarish horror and generates heavy fetishcore themes.