Fantastic Fest 2010 Review: ‘RUBBER’

[Yes, I’m still catching up with my Fantastic Fest 2010 coverage.  You will hear my war stories in the wrap up post that will be posted within a couple of weeks.]

A movie about a killer tire. Why?  No Reason.  Ok, there is actually a reason, sort of.  When horror fans heard about Rubber on various genre based websites, interest was piqued.  I’m here to tell you that the killer tire story shouldn’t really be perceived as an odd slasher film or anything that sounds like it would be something you seen before because it isn’t.  That’s what makes it so damn interesting.

To run down the details of what happens during the film would really ruin a lot of this film’s charm and strong suit.  However, I have to dive a little into the way Rubber executes its scenes.  The opening scene is a road full of oddly placed chairs and a car weaving to hit them all.  Once the car is stopped, we meet a man who essentially lays out why the film exists.  We don’t know why yet, because it is the beginning, but by the end of the film, it will all make sense.

Rubber is a film that people will love intensely or just feel like it was a waste of time.  Unfortunately, the film is one of those flicks that is hard to recommend but also hard to ignore as it explores things that film critics/snobs/bloggers always talk and gripe about.  Rubber really is the 35mm metaphysicial film of theater lobby commentary and even events that happen while watching a film.  Yes, there is a killer tire as well that makes living objects explode via telepathic energy.  This is probably the point where you already make a decision to see the film or not.

What I loved about Rubber is that while it is an entertaining film on the surface, it is almost surreal to hear the characters “watch” Robert the killer tire as a movie.  Essentially, it’s a film within a film in a way.  The characters are watching the “killer tire” movie while making all these comments that reflect the modern filmgoing society.  It’s clever, but not everyone will love it.  I think film lovers will dig it.  Not only because the majority and main focus of the film is soaked in absurdity but because it really is the cinematic mirror that needs to be held to Hollywood.