10 Ridiculous Horror Movie Villains That Shouldn’t Have Worked… But Did

6. Robert - Rubber (2010)

Black Sheep
Magnet Releasing

Out of all the bizarre and nonsensical things that have had the horror movie treatment over the years, with hair extensions (Exte), a sofa (Killer Sofa), and a bed (Death Bed) being some of the standouts, none are as fascinatingly weird as a car tyre in Rubber. And it’s called Robert.

The premise of Rubber is as outlandish as you’d expect: an abandoned spare tyre awakens in the middle of the desert and discovers that it possesses telekinetic powers. With effort, it stands upright and rolls into town where it begins a murderous rampage.

Written, directed, edited, and shot by French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux, Rubber is as unashamedly absurd as any intentionally schlocky B-movie. But what makes Robert a fabulously interesting antagonist (aside from the utter insanity) is the entire film is played as a weird deadpan joke on the audience. Rubber is, as the sheriff character explains in the opening of the film, “an homage to the ‘no reason’".

Dupieux knows that Robert shouldn’t work as villain. But by asking viewers simply to accept and go along with the madness from the outset, Rubber becomes a brilliantly bizarre ride, and it’s all thanks to Robert.

Contributor
Contributor

Glasgow-based cinephile who earned a Masters degree in film studies to spend their time writing about cinema, video games, and horror.