May 29 2012
Rubber (2010) - Blu Ray Review
It’s the start of another work week here on TheNerdEmporium.com and I’m once again going through my backlog review pile. Today on the chopping block I’m taking a look at a title that I’ve been dying to see called Rubber. For those probably scratching their head in regards to the title of this film, no it’s not a horror film about condoms or a documentary about condoms. Rubber actually is a horror comedy about a killer tire name Robert. The film has gotten a lot of praise online for its originality. Unfortunately after seeing the film I’ve come to the conclusion this is one of the worst horror films ever made to date.The plot to Rubber is by far one of the most ridiculous concepts I’ve seen in a film. In fact the film itself states that it has “no reason” behind it at all, in the opening scene. Rubber tells the story of Robert a tire that one day randomly becomes sentient in the desert. Robert soon discovers that he has very destructive telekinetic powers that allow him to blow up things simply by vibrating his body. Robert spends a few days roaming the desert testing his powers on various animals he comes across. Eventually Robert comes to a road where he sees a female driver.
For reasons that are never explained, Robert becomes obsessed with the female and decides to follow her into town. Once Robert gets into town he begins killing every human in sight for no reason at all. Eventually a young boy discovers that Robert is alive and tries his best to convince the townsfolk that a tire is responsible for the murders. Eventually in a very bizarre turn of events, Robert reveals himself to the town sheriff which eventually leads to a very confusing and crappy final battle between the two.
Review:
Honestly Rubber is the perfect example of a good idea done horribly wrong. The biggest issue with Rubber is the fact that at the 8 minute mark the film decides to break the fourth wall. Instead of sticking to the plot synopsis from the cover of the Blu Ray, which I just describe for you all above, it decides to do something completely unconventional and incredibly stupid. It turns into a film within a film, in which we’re watching an audience watch a film about a killer tire. Towards the 30 minute mark the film takes stabs at itself by admitting that they’ve run out of ideas. So what do the actors do to resolve this issue? They poison their own audience so they can just end the film.
However, to the actors dismay they soon find out that one of the audience members is still alive and their forced to not only to continue the film but figure out a way to end it. I didn’t think it was possible to mess up a film about a killer tire but somehow Quentin Duplex has managed to do so in this poor excuse for a film. I see no reason for this film to break the fourth wall, the first five minutes in which we see Robert come to life and discover his powers are amazing. You literally could have written an entire film about a killer tire without breaking the fourth wall and it would have worked out just fine. Instead the director decides to break the fourth wall in an attempt to live up to the theme of the film which is “this film was made for no reason”.
This is the equivalent of being trolled by a director and being scammed out of your hard earned money. In fact I’m so offend by this fact that I’m not even going to bother wasting my time reviewing this film in depth. I would go into detail about, the amazing cinematography, or how the acting is well done, or how the special effects that bring Robert to life and his telekinetic powers are amazing. But what’s the point?
This is a film about nothing, which was made for no reason at all, as stated by the opening scene. Its Quentin Duplex’s trolling anyone stupid enough to buy this film or sit through the entire hour an eighteen minute trolling. So Rubber gets the lowest grade possible on TheNerdEmporium.com half of a star out of a possible four. Don’t bother buying this or renting it, this is one of those films that you pretend just doesn’t exist. I’m truly baffled, how can you mess up such a simple film concept?
Film Rating:
Blu Ray Review:
Guess who was stupid enough to buy the Blu Ray copy of this film? Yep you guessed it. I bought this film on Blu Ray for $25.99. So for the sake of this review let me at least talk about the video and audio quality of this release along with any extras. Rubber is presented in 1080p 1.78:1 aspect ratio. For the most part the video transfer is stunningly superb. Everything looks very crisp, it’s bright, and you can notice all the little details in stunning high definition. There are however a few issues present that are not actually the video transfer’s fault but the film itself. The film was shot using a Canon 5D Mark II in other words the film was shot on an inexpensive camera due to the budget of this film. Since it’s not shot on a state of the art camera that most big budget films have, there are a few lighting issues.
These issues are mostly present in a scene in which the sheriff has the sun glaring behind him, there’s this very awkward shimmer effect that makes it incredibly hard to see the scene itself. But again this is an issue with the film itself and not the video transfer. As for the audio department the film is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Unfortunately the audio track is not very memorable due to the fact the film itself didn’t have an amazing audio track.
With the proper home theater setup you’ll hear a breeze in scenes featuring the desert, you’ll hear a booming score in various scenes featuring Robert, and by far the one sound effect you’ll hear the loudest is the sound Robert makes when he uses his telekinetic powers. In fact the sound is so loud during these sequences you may find yourself scrambling for the remote in order to turn it down. As for extras they’re pretty limited. You get interviews with the cast, an interview with director Quentin Duplex who decides to troll the audience yet again, prototype shots of the tire moving around, and a theatrical trailer.
None of the extras really help further enhance Rubber on Blu Ray. With that being said this is a pretty solid release of a film that you should never own. The film itself, as stated in my review is not worth the money or time of day. However, if you don’t feel like heeding my warning and want to waste $20 you can get this title on Amazon for $17.99 currently. But buyer beware this movie is not worth spending your hard earned money on.
Blu Ray Rating:
