Before we go any further, YOU HAVE TO watch this:

Now, this is really going to blow your mind: They're playing Rubber at the historically boring Portland International Film Fest! This flick looks amazing. It's probably the only entry in Christine's sub-genre of killer automotive parts, about a blood-thirsty Goodyear with telekinetic powers (Carrie meets Christine sub-sub-genre?). As local trashy movie expert and Grindhouse Film Fest curator Dan Halsted says, "[It's] a surreal tale of a psychotic tire out on a telekinetic murderous rampage." Umm, yay!

Halsted is curating a late-night series for PIFF called PIFF After Dark, which will focus on "new genre films that push cinematic boundaries." It's filled with interesting titles and a lot of schlock, making me interested in PIFF for the first time. This is a very good sign of PIFF's future—one that's filled with Japanese splatter, zombies, and Robert the tire, the lusty stud with an all-season tread.

It all starts in a couple weeks. Hit the jump for the complete rundown of PIFF After Dark films and a crazy trailer filled with cute Japanese schoolgirls with crustacean butts.

Descriptions from the press release:

Rubber (2010), Fri Feb 18, 11:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre
"On a quiet desert landscape, a car approaches and rolls to a stop. A man climbs from the trunk, and tells us that this is a movie that exists for no reason. Then, a group of people paralleling the film's audience watch through binoculars... as a tire slowly comes to life. This is Quentin Dupieux's film Rubber. A surreal tale of a psychotic tire out on a telekinetic murderous rampage. No one is safe: small animals, police officers, and innocent bystanders all fall victim to the tire's violent fury. Between head explosions, a beautiful brunette becomes the object of the tire's affection, and one character asks the question that has surprisingly crept into every audience member's mind: 'Is the tire going to get laid?'" (Editor's Note: He probably won't need a condom. Thank you, thank you. I'm here all day!)

Outrage (2010), Sat Feb 19, 11:30 pm, Hollywood Theatre
"Takeshi Kitano is back in top form with this ruthless and violent yakuza thriller! This modern Japanese Godfather is masterfully directed by Kitano (Violent Cop, Fireworks), proving himself once again to be one of the great Japanese directors of our time."

Mutant Girls Squad
(2010), Fri Feb 25, 11:30 pm, Cinema 21
"Rin is a Japanese high school girl living a typical teenage life. This all changes on her 16th birthday, when her father informs her that he is a mutant, and she has inherited his mutant gene. Moments later, government special forces break into her home, and blow both of her parents to bits. Suddenly Rin’s dormant mutant abilities are awakened, and her arm transforms into a sharp, knife-encrusted claw! Fleeing and fighting her way though her hometown, she discovers a group of girls who were also born as mutants, calling themselves the 'Hiruko.' The girls all wear sexy outfits, and have different special abilities: one can transform her arms into swords, one can grow tentacles from her fingertips, and another can grow a chainsaw out of her body. The team hone their skills under their demented leader for one purpose: to take revenge on the humans who have persecuted them for ages. Action packed, hilarious, and outrageously violent, this is Japanese splatter cinema at its finest."

The Revenant (2009), Sat Feb 26, 11:30 pm, Cinema 21
"When Joey's best friend Bart is killed in action in Iraq, Joey is unsettled at the funeral, but not nearly as much as when Bart shows up the next night undead on his doorstep. Not knowing how he has come back to life, the two friends discover that Bart is a 'Revenant,' somewhere between a zombie and vampire, and needs blood to survive. Reminiscent of Shaun of the Dead, this is one of the best horror films to come along in a decade."

Stay tuned for more PIFF coverage on Blogtown and in the Mercury.