Year of Release: 1977
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver, Howard Ryshpan, Patricia Gage, Susan Roman, Roger Periard, Lynne Deragon, Terry Schonblum, Victor Desy, Julie Anna
Genre: Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review:
Following his celebrated feature film debut with "Shivers", which premiered in 1975, director David Cronenberg quickly followed suit with "Rabid". The film follows the story of Rose, a young woman who, alongside her boyfriend, experiences a motorcycle accident, which leaves her severely injured. She's taken to a nearby clinic for immediate care. The clinic, which specializes in plastic surgery, has an operating team led by Dr. Keloid, who decides to use some new techniques of skin grafting, something they've been testing. While Rose's boyfriend quickly recovers since his injuries were only minor, Rose stays in a coma for a whole month, until she suddenly awakes with an unusual hunger. A fellow patient comes to check on her, and Rose drawn by instinct feeds off of him. As it turns out, the procedure had side effects, that have manifested in a mutation, one that makes Rose need blood to replenish her strengths, as well as she developed this spike that emerges from her armpit, allowing her to feed from her victims. Her victims don't immediately die, but they become carriers of a virus, that drives them insane with rage and lust for blood, which also leads them to die shortly afterwards. As Rose escapes the clinic to head to Montreal, the virus spreads wherever she goes.
The first part of David Cronenberg's career is populated with films where the writer/director starts exploring a lot of the themes that would run throughout his career in general, and his best films in particular, namely understanding what makes a human being innately human (and how incidents/occurrences shape the perception of what our bodies are). If "Shivers" was in some ways prophetic about the emergence of Aids, "Rabid" is prophetic about pandemic states, in the sense that the virus caused by Rose, just spreads like wild fire. The director is however less interested about the effect that the virus has in society, but more on how Rose adapts her existence to this new condition she has, something that to a certain extent, she's oblivious about. As Rose mutates into something else, her sense of what human is, what that essence and value is all about, also morphs into something quite different. Her new biology dictates more than values or morals: she's driven by hunger, and that trumps everything else. It's a film that once again is prophetic, very pertinent for the times we're living in, and possessed of a unique style that all Cronenberg films had in the late 70s, early 80s (a mix of recognizable reality and a certain futuristic stance). "Rabid" would have benefited from a better central performance, but it's a powerful and entertaining film worth revisiting.
The first part of David Cronenberg's career is populated with films where the writer/director starts exploring a lot of the themes that would run throughout his career in general, and his best films in particular, namely understanding what makes a human being innately human (and how incidents/occurrences shape the perception of what our bodies are). If "Shivers" was in some ways prophetic about the emergence of Aids, "Rabid" is prophetic about pandemic states, in the sense that the virus caused by Rose, just spreads like wild fire. The director is however less interested about the effect that the virus has in society, but more on how Rose adapts her existence to this new condition she has, something that to a certain extent, she's oblivious about. As Rose mutates into something else, her sense of what human is, what that essence and value is all about, also morphs into something quite different. Her new biology dictates more than values or morals: she's driven by hunger, and that trumps everything else. It's a film that once again is prophetic, very pertinent for the times we're living in, and possessed of a unique style that all Cronenberg films had in the late 70s, early 80s (a mix of recognizable reality and a certain futuristic stance). "Rabid" would have benefited from a better central performance, but it's a powerful and entertaining film worth revisiting.
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