CATERPILLAR (KYATAPIRA) (1988) Dir. Shozin Fukui, 33 mins It was a while back that we looked at one of the early works of Japanese director Shozin Fukui in the shape of Gerorisuto, a pretty discombobulating, unsettling and ultimately inconclusive short film seemingly shot guerrilla-style. And while I know that the director is better known for his features, I felt like it made more sense to tick off more of the short works that came first before coming to the likes of 964 Pinocchio and Rubber’s Lover. So, in that spirit, here’s a swift look at 1988’s Caterpillar… In many ways this one reminds me of Gerorisuto, in that it tends to follow characters around the streets of a Japanese city with a whole host of different camera effects. We have a businessman at a train station, a young lady lunching in a park, a girl walking in the suburbs, a techno-goth (I think) having a hard time holding himself upright and more besides. And on top of that we have a very strange creature that we see in intermittent flashes, an insectoid creature that looks like it’s made at least in part out of tin foil (it’s hard to shake that impression once you clock it) and possessing a near-human face. As I type that I know it might sound like that’s a criticism of the effects, but it does look weird and come over pretty well, and there’s something in the way it moves that makes me distinctly uneasy to watch, especially when accompanied by the sound effect that goes with it. In fact, the sound is one of the better features of this one, with that element always seeming to hit home. Each of the characters goes through some strong emotion, with it being intimated rather than shown that the creature is having some sort of effect on them – nothing is ever made crystal clear on that front, and it’s hard to know if that would add to the short film or detract from it. Sadly, what this also shares with Gerorisuto is a sense that I don’t honestly know why I watched it, or what I was really meant to take away. There are some interesting visuals, but the idea feels delivered so lightly and uncertainly that it doesn’t really leave a lasting impression. I’ve got no particular problem with doing some of the work with my imagination, but Caterpillar feels like it is asking me to just do too much of the heavy lifting. If you can come up with a firm interpretation here, you’re a better man than me, and maybe you’ll get more out of it as a result, but in the end it’s more guesswork than really feels comfortable. There is something I liked about the essence of Fukui’s work, and I really hope that when he has that scope and space of a longer runtime he can deliver something ultimately more satisfying. Just because it’s a short film doesn’t mean you have to leave everything unfinished, after all… RATING: 4.5/10. There are some flashes of promise in here, with some intriguing visuals as well as some great sound effects and music used to good effect. But in the end what could have been a fine idea to develop feels completely undercooked, and just left me feeling a little deflated. A better ending to this one would certainly have carried this one to another level, but sadly it just wasn’t there. The director certainly has a cult following, but I suspect that’s more based on other offerings than this one… TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITEINHERITING HER GHOSTS BY S.H. COOPER (BOOK REVIEW) THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR MOVIE REVIEW WEBSITES |
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