It’s a story as old as time. Tire becomes sentient, learns it has super powers, goes on a killing spree, and then falls in love with a human woman whom he just can’t talk to.
First of all, I can only recommend this movie to film students and those interested in the different aspects and qualities of script writing or film history. This is not a Saturday afternoon popcorn movie, despite being, on the surface, a movie about a murderous car tire.
Rubber (R) tells two stories. The main story is of Robert (I don’t recall when, if ever, this name was mentioned in the movie, but the film’s website refers to it as such), a car tire lost in the desert. We watch as it becomes sentient, learning to stand and roll as it explores its surroundings. Coming upon obstacles such as plastic bottles and cans, Robert discovers it has psycho-kinetic powers and can blow up these obstacles. This thirst for destruction escalates as living creatures stand in its path.
As Robert reaches the highway it tries to blow up a woman and her car, but fails, instead following her back to a motel where it develops feelings for her. Despite these feelings, it cannot speak, so this lack of communication causes Robert’s homicidal tendencies to escalate further, killing any humans who cross it.
The second underlying story of the film concerns the audience. Not the viewer watching a film screen or Netflix, but rather an audience on a cliff, watching this movie as it pans out. It can be conceived that the events in this movie are both a film being viewed and also real life. The Sheriff opens the movie we watch by explaining to the audience on the cliff that the film they are about to watch is “an homage to the ‘No Reason’—the most powerful element of style.” He points out that life is full of “No Reasons,” such as why we think, why characters in certain 
movies never use the restroom, and why E.T. is brown.
We watch both stories, that of Robert and that of the audience watching the movie about Robert. The audience on the cliff appears to be symbolic of the people we hate sitting near in movie theaters because they constantly talk throughout the film and annoy each other, thereby annoying those who are trying to enjoy a movie about a killer tire. Most of the audience appears to be clueless that what they are watching could actually be happening at that time, despite the fact that they watch a real tire through binoculars, believing it’s a film.
I thought of this movie as the play within Hamlet, but instead of the killer in the play being a relative, it’s just a crazy tire seeking out his human sister-in-law as a bride. Given the many times the fourth wall is broken (and sometimes fifth, though I was confused at times watching the audience and the movie characters interact) I could see William Shakespeare writing a play like this, replacing the tire with a human actor.
As I said at the start, there are many people I do not recommend this film for.
People who get easily confused by “indie films” where film studies are necessary to understand the basic concept. People who cannot watch animals being harmed. Robert kills both a rabbit and a crow at the beginning of the film. The remainder of murders are human, but the shot of the rabbit is pretty gruesome. Those who just want a happy ending where everything is resolved. The ending appears to be resolved until 10 minutes before the end. Without revealing the end of the movie, I can easily say that Robert continues to take vengeance.
When I decided to watch this movie for the second time, I expected to enjoy it more than a few years ago when I first watched it because I had a better perspective of the film. I was sadly mistaken. While I still found it fun, I would only give this movie 2.5 out of 5. I found that it was too confusing to get through, even after the second time I watched it. If you are a film buff and are interested in the aspects of story I mentioned though, I suggest you check it out, if for nothing more than to just laugh. You can find this film on Netflix, or rent it on Youtube. Check out the trailer here.
