Rubber’s Lover

Release Date: 1996.
Rating: Good, but slow.
Often interpreted as a 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.

Often compared to Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Rubber’s Lover is filmed in stark black and white and set in a decayed postindustrial city. Like that film, it utilizes extreme body horror imagery.

Cast & Credits:
Writer & Director: Shozin Fukui.
Stars: Nao, Norimizu Ameya, Yôta Kawase.
Score: Hiroyuki Nagashimai.