SXSW (Short) Review: TUB

I suppose it all sort of started in 1968 with Roman Polanski’s ROSEMARY’S BABY, then taken to the next level of weird in 1979 by David Cronenberg with THE BROOD and most recently twisted in a wholly new way in 2009 with GRACE. If you haven’t figured out the trend by now, you’re clearly not a fan of quality horror. So, let me spell it out for you and say the trend is horror movies about babies and pregnancy.

Exactly. The concept alone is twisted enough for most people to shy away at the mere thought of cute, innocent little babies being associated with movies intended to scare or repulse the audience on some level. For those people, Bobby Miller’s short TUB is not immediately recommended, but… I still dare you to give it a try.

Written and directed by Bobby Miller, TUB is not his first short film and it shows. TUB is a well-crafted piece of shock cinema. This is a dark and to some, possibly controversial comedy. It’s a film that, intentionally or not, draws upon the unmistakable influence of David Cronenberg. Miller adds his own touch, creating that delicate mix of repulsion and rubbernecking interest that holds the viewer’s attention as we watch the character’s ordeal unfold on film.

Paul (Eric M. Levy) fails at seducing his live-in girlfriend Emily (Megan Raye Manzi) so, he does the obvious… after Paul finishes taking care of business in the shower he cleans up and goes to bed. The next morning begins on the wrong foot and progressively gets worse as Paul realizes he has impregnated his bathtub.

Late for work, Paul rushes to leave his apartment but is distracted by what appears to be a clogged drain in his bathtub. What he finds instead is the aftermath of his one-night-stand with the porcelain seductress. Paul now must figure out what is to be done with his grotesque little love child.

TUB is a story that will have a strong niche audience of fans, with its popularity encouraged by those who find the film offensive. That’s the beauty of movies like TUB, whereas the controversial aspects of the film ultimately increase its exposure through failed attempts at discouraging others. It’s a strange but ironic dynamic that often assists the filmmaker in achieving notoriety.

Paul is a nervous wreck, always stressed by his job, so this new chapter in his life only makes things worse. Paul’s little bathtub bambino begins to grow on him, as he forms an unlikely bond, no different than a mother with her newborn human child. The tension works well in TUB as Paul stumbles through fatherhood. He juggles hiding the truth from his girlfriend Emily as she questions Paul about avoiding her.

The special effects within TUB are very admirable, given the scale of the project. The bathtub baby somehow manages to be both cute and grotesque at the same time. The morbid humor of the film in enhanced with wonderful mood-inducing songs from Sam Cooke and Conway Twitty.

TUB is a film that aims for the viewer’s heart, either to capture it or cause it to abruptly fail, the outcome is up to the individual.