A low budget attempt at psychological thriller using all the tropes. I wanted to like this movie, the main character was almost creepy and believable.
10 Reviews
Another amature film about trauma
cinemagick13 June 2020
Pretty good.
ninchnails-4427626 November 2021
This was better than I expected. Kinda surprised me. One thing tho, I don't really buy the two of them hooking up... She just seems out of his league, while he just looks like a dorky dude from the IT department. I mean, it's nowhere near as bad as the mismatch in the remake of Night of the Demons (that one totally requires a suspension of disbelief), but still...
They could have at least had him act more confident or smooth, something to kind of curtail the obvious "physical" distance between them. But he just comes off as desperate, like Bud Bundy going thru his book of numbers trying to land a date, in character as Grand Master B.
For anyone that starts thinking how horrible I must be to infer looks are that important, be honest with yourself, when's the last time you saw a girl looking like Katy Perry or holding hands with a dude that looks like Vince Neil NOW? Or a Chris Hemsworth with his arm around a Toni Collette? Trust me, I WISH it were different (if not just for my sake), but that's the harsh reality of it. Maybe once every 7 years, you see a couple totally all about each other where it's kind of hard to buy that they're actually a couple, but that's it.
All these people out there protesting for equal rights and treatment, saying we should all be on the same level as people, saying end prejudice, we're all individuals but the same on the inside, etc... But really, how many of them have a significant other that is SIGNIFICANTLY less attractive than them?
Just think about it.. sorry for using this comment as a forum for my opinion, but the topic just got me off on a tangent. It really just bugs me...
They could have at least had him act more confident or smooth, something to kind of curtail the obvious "physical" distance between them. But he just comes off as desperate, like Bud Bundy going thru his book of numbers trying to land a date, in character as Grand Master B.
For anyone that starts thinking how horrible I must be to infer looks are that important, be honest with yourself, when's the last time you saw a girl looking like Katy Perry or holding hands with a dude that looks like Vince Neil NOW? Or a Chris Hemsworth with his arm around a Toni Collette? Trust me, I WISH it were different (if not just for my sake), but that's the harsh reality of it. Maybe once every 7 years, you see a couple totally all about each other where it's kind of hard to buy that they're actually a couple, but that's it.
All these people out there protesting for equal rights and treatment, saying we should all be on the same level as people, saying end prejudice, we're all individuals but the same on the inside, etc... But really, how many of them have a significant other that is SIGNIFICANTLY less attractive than them?
Just think about it.. sorry for using this comment as a forum for my opinion, but the topic just got me off on a tangent. It really just bugs me...
Woefully Miscast Leading Male
mcjensen-0592418 July 2023
I'm really not too sure how this goober with a deformed mouth ended up with the starring role in this movie. It makes the entire premise of the movie completely ludicrous in the first 5 minutes and it just never gets on track. There's no way these characters would ever hook up. And not only that, he also ends up being with another gorgeous lady. Anyway, the so called mental decline and obsession falls flat. It's all just rather mundane and has that made for TV vibe that has one reaching for their phone rather than pay attention to the slop unfolding on the screen. The woman characters are indeed gorgeous, and about the only thing worth attempting to make it to the predictable end. A cheesy stinker that has been done so much better so many times before. I'm not even going into details just giving a generic warning to those looking for a compelling physhological drama. Keep looking. This will not satisfy.
Slight but interesting look at obsession
MattyGibbs14 August 2013
This is a low budget film that looks at obsession. It follows a geeky scientist who has a one night stand with a colleague and develops a deep and dangerous obsession with her.
It is hard to pigeon hole this film- it's more drama than thriller and to be honest not a lot happens. However the acting is decent and I found it a believable account of unrequited love.
Rubberneck won't appeal to everyone and many will find it too boring ( my wife did) but I found it strangely compelling, mainly I think due to the creepily realistic portrayal of the scientist by Alex Karpovsky.
A film that's worth checking out for those that like indie films.
It is hard to pigeon hole this film- it's more drama than thriller and to be honest not a lot happens. However the acting is decent and I found it a believable account of unrequited love.
Rubberneck won't appeal to everyone and many will find it too boring ( my wife did) but I found it strangely compelling, mainly I think due to the creepily realistic portrayal of the scientist by Alex Karpovsky.
A film that's worth checking out for those that like indie films.
Odd, Tedious Telling Of Obsession
jimcarter195916 December 2020
The first 50 minutes are slow and tedious. Incidents of obsession are not that pronounced. The editing and pace of the story is choppy and irritating. There are many other films that do a much better job of depicting obsessive/compulsive behavior. I really didn't feel any emotion toward the characters, aside from irritation.
Vastly underrated.
alfarro8 December 2020
Reminded Me of a Fellow Marine
bemyfriend-4018416 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The main actor looked exactly like a fellow Marine. Also, this Marine behaved like the character! We worked in an administrative office, on a Marine Corps base. We weren't grunts in the field. Consequently, there were many Women Marines working with us. This Marine buddy of mine became obsessed with one of them. As I said, he resembled the actor; so the Woman Marine had little interest in him. He just wasn't handsome enough for her. She bonded with some other dude, and my buddy got real upset about that. Bu he was a good Marine, and an outstanding individual, and he maintained his dignity. I liked this film until the main character killed her. I stopped watching after that. What more is there to see? He's a mentally ill murderer, and deserves nothing but punishment. I didn't care about anything else he did, after that. Seen streamed on Peacock.
Worth a look
user-355837 July 2021
A study on obsession and grief. Alex turns in a great performance of a man tortured both in relationships and in processing a loss early in life. You'll have to be patient as it unfolds, but it's worth your time given the strong performances all around.
Way better than 5.3
hallesq6 May 2017
This is a good movie. I don't understand its mediocre rating. Karpovsky is excellent and not afraid to make himself unlikeable. That takes guts, especially since he plays a voice of reason in Girls. I hope he gets more roles, because he's good. The female lead is also willing to play a non-evil, but equally unlikeable, character. Good acting all around. And the subject matter is a lot more important than what we are invited to watch in standard Hollywood fare. This movie is really worth watching.
It's a subtly powerful little film, though really misrepresented
bob_meg17 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I understand that it's a trailer's job to sell a movie, but when the trailer grossly misrepresents the movie it is hard to get over one's initial feelings of irritation. The trailer for Rubberneck is intriguing and looks a lot creepier than your usual stalker flick: the emotions seem to run deeper, the entanglements more intimate --- it appears there's a lot here.
There is, just not what you'd expect since...it's not really a stalker flick. Rubberneck's story is supposedly based on a true crime case, and that's very plausible to believe once you've seen it. All the action develops very slowly, with a lot of nuance given to character development and back-story. When the violence does occur, it's shockingly sudden and will definitely knock you off balance if you aren't ready for it.
The problem lies after that climax, which comes about midway through the film. From that point on, there's a feeling that there should be more somehow...but again, if we can believe the "true events" caption, it probably was a pretty predictable denouement.
Even though Karpovsky is coming into his own as a director (his "Red Flag" was similarly competent yet quiet), his strength is still his acting ability and he channels a lot of interesting shadings into his character of Paul. He seems ordinary enough when we first see him, but slowly his patina of banality falls away to reveal a very wounded, sick person beneath, but never one you overtly villianize. And Jaimie Ray Newman gives much resonance to the character of Danielle, his one-night-stand love crush. Her character isn't particularly likable or sympathetic, but she is written and rendered realistically.
If you can get past your expectations, Rubberneck is a very intense character piece that will stay with you for sometime. It is subtle, and not really a thriller by any definition, regardless of how it's categorized.
There is, just not what you'd expect since...it's not really a stalker flick. Rubberneck's story is supposedly based on a true crime case, and that's very plausible to believe once you've seen it. All the action develops very slowly, with a lot of nuance given to character development and back-story. When the violence does occur, it's shockingly sudden and will definitely knock you off balance if you aren't ready for it.
The problem lies after that climax, which comes about midway through the film. From that point on, there's a feeling that there should be more somehow...but again, if we can believe the "true events" caption, it probably was a pretty predictable denouement.
Even though Karpovsky is coming into his own as a director (his "Red Flag" was similarly competent yet quiet), his strength is still his acting ability and he channels a lot of interesting shadings into his character of Paul. He seems ordinary enough when we first see him, but slowly his patina of banality falls away to reveal a very wounded, sick person beneath, but never one you overtly villianize. And Jaimie Ray Newman gives much resonance to the character of Danielle, his one-night-stand love crush. Her character isn't particularly likable or sympathetic, but she is written and rendered realistically.
If you can get past your expectations, Rubberneck is a very intense character piece that will stay with you for sometime. It is subtle, and not really a thriller by any definition, regardless of how it's categorized.
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