Rubber – Review of a Tire Movie

Rubber is not for everyone. I first found out about it less than a week ago. The idea is simple enough, a tire wakes up in the middle of a desert to discover it has telepathic abilities and can kill using those abilities. Yes, you read that correctly, a tire. From a car. It doesn’t matter which one, front or back, driver side or passenger side. It’s a movie about just a tire. Except it’s not a tire (which it is – for no reason).

Rubber is directed by Quentin Dupieux and what he turns out is a very David Lynch style film; mix in a dash of irony, and a massive heap of things that happen for “no reason” and you have exactly what Rubber is all about.

When I discovered that this film existed, less than a week ago I wish to point out, I went to Netflix and added it to the top of my list. It arrived today and this evening I sat down to watch it…

A little slow in the beginning, actually very slow for the entire duration, but if you are watching it for fast action, you are watching it for the wrong reason. The reason this should be watched is for the storytelling. Everything in movies has been done before. Rubber is no exception, at least as far as the world of inanimate objects coming to life goes. We have an entire car (Christine), a child’s doll (Child’s Play), the list goes on and on. However (and no I’m not going to compare this movie’s story to that of Christine – Stephen King is by far the master, and always will be), what does set this movie apart from other so called horror movies, is the story itself.

There are, in essence, 2 different “universes” going on in Rubber. There are the Spectators and there are the Actors. I don’t want to go into any spoilers as to how everything is pulled off and executed, but suffice it to say this movie will stay with you after you have seen it. I’ll warn you now, it’s artsy. It’s not for everyone. It’s a “thinking person” movie. You have to have an open mind, and be ready to suspend disbelief.

Personally, I enjoyed it and give it 4 stars out of 5