Opening this Friday: Rubber: the Tale of a Tire Serial Killer
In the new film Rubber, a tire that can roll itself around and explode people’s heads goes on a killing spree. Rubber is the second feature by French electro house musician Quentin Dupieux, also known as Mr. Oizo (a play on the French word for “bird”).
By Dan Hoffman
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joI-uU86NXw&w=622&h=390%5D
In the new film Rubber, a tire that can roll itself around and explode people’s heads goes on a killing spree. Rubber is the second feature by French electro house musician Quentin Dupieux, also known as Mr. Oizo (a play on the French word for “bird”). If you haven’t heard of Mr. Oizo – as a musician or a filmmaker – that’s not surprising; his most popular single, “Flat Beat,” is over ten years old now, and his first feature film, Steak, doesn’t appear to have had a US release, nor is much information in English available on it.
Rubber is slated to premier in the US this Friday at the Cinema Village in New York City. The film initially premiered at Cannes in May of 2010 to negative reviews, and at subsequent festivals the reception was mixed. Not having seen it, it seems to have the potential to be a sustained ironic joke played on the serial killer/killing spree subgenre, or a gimmicky waste of time. Either way, I’m seeing it. 
