Flexing in the Dark

Director/animator Chris Cunningham has a reputation for realising dark visions in his music videos, but none are as outright disturbing as the nightmarish netherworld of Rubber Johnny (www.warpfilms.com). Locked away in a pitch-black basement by his verbally abusive (and downright hilarious) father, the wheelchair-ridden, massively deformed Johnny (played by Cunningham himself) lives with only his pet Chihuahua and his hyperactive imagination for company. With the aid of some illegal substances and an Aphex Twin track ("AFX237V.7" from Drukqs), the lad finds some visually astounding ways to amuse himself, which frighten his pup and irritate his father. Cunningham's debut short (and its accompanying 42-page booklet of photos and drawings) is a jam-packed six-minute head-fuck of blackly comedic hilarity and visually arresting imagery. Just don't watch it with the lights off.