Codeliusthe2nd

Rabid

David Cronenberg truly is a master in body horror, creating some truly terrifying universes. His first couple features, that being Shivers and Rabid focus on a mysterious disease affecting people, mixing drama with pure terror. This film goes full out, not relying too heavily on body horror, but focusing on the terror that panic can induce. This is how you do a different take on the zombie genre that doesn’t fall into the typical tropes and is able to stand out among the many other films in the genre. Cronenberg has consitently impressed me with his films, and I can’t wait to explore his more dramatic films from the later part of his career so far.

seenyourvideo

Rabid

Directors Suite: David Cronenberg (The Infectious and Seductive and Bleak) (https://boxd.it/12N5S) This is the type of plastic surgery business that stimulates mind and body; an eventual and on-going nature of rabid control, spinning into an infectious poison and corruption of the soul. A sprawling and untamed desire to clench, to possess and transmit the very germ and foamed-up ugliness inside one's desolate body. Stimulating with each touch, chill, and cold sweat that splashes against skin; perhaps percolating the shame and spirit that is lost within. A pale entity masked by deliriousness. Not only is Rabid a parade of plague and death, but it's also a profound piece of pollution and the effects of a damaging mind. Following his dreary debut with Shivers, Cronenberg expands on the same infectious concept, this time improving and providing a fittingly terrifying and effective observation on infection insanity. Its characters, however, are scarce and another bad habit of the director; here, they're limited and slow to develop. Although sparse, this is by far the better film when compared to his underwhelming debut. Not to mention, its ending is rather fucking fantastic. 3.3/5

jorderrrn

Rabid

March Madness #2 (https://boxd.it/Sgfq8) Rabid is quite interesting. here we have a tragic tale of change, survival and sex where no one is really the bad guy. funny enough Rose's entire situation is basically the exact thing that Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul goes through which makes me think of the way that Cronenberg has gone on to influence art. it's beautifully shot with some breathtaking scenes that directly contrast the horror of what's happening throughout the story. speaking of that horror, this film is quite dark and depressing with the way the society essentially crumbles at the onset of this epidemic. people are going insane, families are being torn apart and infected are getting shot in the street and thrown in garbage trucks. it's all quite intense. At the centre of it all is Rose played by Marilyn Chambers who, surprisingly, has no relation to Maika Monroe despite looking EXACTLY like her but that's not important. Rose is an interesting character because while she'd technically be the antagonist, since she's the disease carrier, she's essentially innocent because she has no idea that she's spreading this disease. her body is fundamentally changed because of the unforseen consequences of an emergency operation and she now has to live with the fact that she can no longer exist in the world the same way. having her now spread disease by just trying to eat is this really cruel consequence for something she had no control over. the film is saying a bunch about survival and desire and how these two things can overlap and maybe cause issues. but i do think that this film was arguing for Rose. maybe the doctors could've monitored her state more and provided some kind of support for her to live without harm but maybe that's something that not even they could've predicted. in any case this film has given me a lot to think about and i think it's very good

nathansnook

Rabid

“𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳.” Cronenberg, once again, ahead of the curve by pitting hypotheticals of how to contain a contagion that reminds us a little too much of what would happen in 2020. But Cronenberg was actualizing a fear of his own times in reflection of the AIDS epidemic. Here is a woman who can’t help but be who she is, feasting on the blood of others because of the pinprick entity inside her. Vampiric at all costs, it terrorizes the city, creates paranoia and distrust all over through a cold atmosphere. The director’s continued interest in flesh, sex, and its consequences will further be polished in later works, but it’s a run of the mill B-horror flick, perhaps a little less impressive than say Brood, but one that is perfect for its time and eerily haunting for our time.