Rubber Johnny
Rubber Johnny
| 20 June 2005 (USA)
Rubber Johnny Trailers

Rubber Johnny is a six-minute experimental short film and music video directed by Chris Cunningham in 2005, using music composed by Aphex Twin. The name Rubber Johnny is drawn from a British slang for "condom" as well as a description of the main character, which explains the title sequence.

Reviews
ThiefHott

Too much of everything

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Stometer

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

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Bessie Smyth

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

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Bob

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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tonymurphylee

RUBBER JOHNNY is a short film by acclaimed music video director Chris Cunningham. It is a strangely emotional film about a deformed subhuman that does, something. I don't know what he does, it's a little difficult to describe. It could be interpreted as dancing, and indeed, it is pretty much the only thing it could remotely be, but there is something more elaborate at work here. He may be stoned. The film can be easily taken as a music video, but I think that to call it that would be too easy. One could easily dismiss it as Chris Cunningham showing off his prosthetic morphing techniques, but they are far too simple to be shoved off as such. There is a story here, but we are given the bare minimum of what the underlying theme is, which is boredom. Or maybe it's loneliness. What I think is especially unique about this video is the lack of any sort of purpose. It simply tells of an apparent event. There appears to be some kind of theme involving male genitalia, with the title, RUBBER JOHNNY, and the fact that the title is marked on an erect penis. The prosthetics on display here are pretty abstract and disgusting, but in a fascinating and unique way. Chris Cunningham is great because he can take something popular in our culture and completely twist and distort it in a way that allows it to be the same popular thing, but the viewer will have a completely different feeling or opinion about it. Just look at his video for Aphex Twin's WINDOWLICKER. He takes the female body and shows it in a different way that is original and simple so that they remain in the same form the viewer was into before, however, because of the way he altered it the viewer gets repulsed and even very frightened by it now. The music video WINDOWLICKER was, in away, an act of protest and rebellion. As a result, I consider today to be among the most shocking music videos ever made. However, RUBBER JOHNNY is also a protest, but on a deeper level. The paranormal idea is so attractive in our way of life that we have caused culture revolving around aliens and humans to be a funny dream. What if somebody treated the idea in an honest and original way? The creature in this film may very well be human, but he is certainly not somebody that we would ever have any interest of allowing him to adapt to our ways. Chris Cunningham is able to take things a step further by adding a sexual element into the idea of RUBBER JOHNNY. The enlarged penis of the creature is another step in the direction of the fantasies that many people have discussed about having some sort of sexual or bodily interest in otherworldly beings. The film, instead, dares you to try and think about sex while watching this horrifying movie. I think that if Chris Cunningham continues to make daring and creative films like these, people could really look back on his work after the world has continued to grow and alter itself and realize that he had ideas that none of us have ever thought honestly about. Do visual effects really have to be complicated and drawn out to be good? Is the female body really a more beautiful thing that the male body? Are the ideas behind aliens really as fascinating as we've led ourselves to believe? It's these kinds of questions that make films like RUBBER JOHNNY work.

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Stonedwithoutdope

Altogether this is an enjoyable little movie but you can really enjoy it if you imagine it as real life footage. Chris Cunningham and his crew make this out as if they are filming actual footage of a deformed teenager and if you know the back story it can strike your brain as fairly disturbing. They do it well.This shows footage of a severely deformed super flexible teenager living in solitude in his dark basement where his parents keep him due to being ashamed of him. All he has for company is his frightened dog. This will show his reaction to someone trying to get through to him and a little dance number to keep himself occupied in his dull life.Overall this is a great little enjoyable film and spooky at that. Bravo Chris Cunningham, you rock.

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bikerpug

This short film has a "night vision" appearance, that is it looks like it was filmed in darkness with a infra-red camera. It starts with a blurry twisted "thing" speaking gibberish in a dark cellar, while a voice attempts to converse with it. Soon the "thing" becomes agitated and must be sedated.The faceless voice leaves, and a broken florecent light flickers as a small dog walks nerviously looking at the strange being in the wheelchair. Then you get a good look at the twisted creature, a distorted nude humanoid in a wheel chair with a huge bulging head mouthing bizarre sounds. Then it starts to get weird....

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Dave

May or May Not Contain Spoiler.. don't think so though!! I have never posted a comment about any movie here before, but I felt compelled to post about this little flick.With all the hype surrounding this movie, I was expecting a terrifying thriller but instead I was treated to a 4 minute long laser show with brief breaks in the 'action' to feature a poor special FX job on Johnny spinning in his wheelchair, and a frightened small dog.Despite the claims of 'shape shifting mutant', I saw nothing of the sort, other than what looked like a blob of latex with teeth pushed against a photocopier.Worst money I ever spent in my life.

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