Rose (Marilyn Chambers) and her boyfriend Hart (Frank Moore) are riding motorcycles around the Canadian countryside. After an accident, Rose is seriously injured and placed in the Keloid Clinic – a private plastic surgery center – for an experimental tissue regeneration process. This new technology repairs injuries; It also leaves her with a taste for human blood, a new organ for absorbing her victims and carrying a rabies-like virus that infects the remains of her feed. When he fled to Montreal, the contagion spread, the population of the city became violent, the killers foaming at the mouth. Will the plague — and Rose — be stopped?
Like all of writer-director David Cronenberg’s more personal work – in contrast to later filmss such as Eastern Promises< /i> – Rabid shows a mixture of fascination and mistrust of technology, solidifying the corruption of the body through, in the words of the film Videodrome. “new flesh” and the combination of sex and horror. These constant themes – and the arresting images they bring – set Cronenberg apart from most other science fiction/horror filmmakers, including his Low budget works and monitoring and analysis.
Cronenberg’s film “universe” is filled with shady institutions like the Keloid Clinic (other examples of The Somafree Somafree Clinic and Videodrome Spectacle Optical Corporation) where advances in science and technology take place away from the public either physically – the Keloid Clinic is in the middle of the Canadian countryside – or behind layers of corporate obfuscation (an effective metaphor for a lack of understanding regarding science and technology that permeates our lives). While the advances in Cronenberg’s films are often spectacular – tissue regeneration in rabid, telepathy in Scanners, immersive virtual reality in eXistenZ – there are without fail, problems foreseen. when they lead to disastrous potential. The technologies developed by the Keloid Clinic would be a leap forward in surgery; however, the man in Cronenberg’s films is not full of his techniques. Our knowledge is imperfect and tainted by the vileness of care. The Rabid clinic mainly uses new technology in cosmetic surgery to increase support for further research. It is this lack of purity of motive and wisdom in the application of knowledge that Cronenberg’s characters continually lead to disaster.
Cronenberg’s “new flesh” – the personalization and characterization of the impact of technology on individuals and society – never turns out to be a positive outcome for people. Either way, the incorporation of the “new flesh” leads to ambiguity, changing the character’s affect in ways that disrupt the link with humanity. But in rabid there is no ambiguity. After undergoing experimental surgery, Rose is physically perfect; and the incorporation of the “new flesh” into his body leads to horrible results. Rose’s “new flesh” can only survive in human blood. To feed its victims, Rose a new, organ of blood exhaustion, modified by the human body to adapt to the pressures of technological progress. In addition, while we do not know Rose before the accident, from other characters she has a changed personality. As we see her, she is little more than a vampiric junkie, doing what she needs to “fix” the next human blood. The “new flesh” – just reduced to technology and how it changes us – is a violent, destructive force.
While not treated as explicitly as in the previous film (Shivers), the connection between sex and horror is Cronenberg’s third major theme is in such a rabid body of work. Rose’s method of feeding requires a tight embrace, which many of her victims misinterpret as sexual development. He approached some of his victims, capturing his lust for her. The nature of its new blood siphon organ – the phallic proboscis emerging from the vaginal opening in the wing – does not leave much to the imagination. The anxious tension between lust and the unwelcome possibilities associated with it – disease, violence, finding out the person you slept with isn’t the person you thought he was – are all present here.
Is rabid a good movie? In addition to being a formative work of some of the last 35 years of cinema, it has merits that help it overcome the limitations of its humbleness. Marilyn Chambers turns out to be a decent actor. While the example of “stunt casting” – Chambers was at the height of the porn career in the late-70s. The role is believable as the alternately confused, terrified, desperate and predatory Rose. The special effects – mostly fake blood, some slightly graphic surgery scenes and Rose’s blood draining an organ – are competently handled. The cinematography makes the most of the bleak, early winter landscape and many night scenes. The movie flows nicely, with a good balance between action and character moments.
Economic humility was damaged by the spread of the plague in Montreal. Having a few extra melees in white bio-Alexandrian and throwing surplus army clothing at two victims of the plague doesn’t feel like creating a “city on the brink of chaos.” Also, while he puts the rooms in good working order, the rest of the cast is uneven. In particular, Frank Moore turns in an emotionally mortified performance – although, as beautiful, Cronenberg seems to have his actors his charactersactors to have< /a> movement states.
Ultimately, Rabid succeeds in all its limitations. It’s a thought-provoking work from one of the film’s most original filmmakers. Whether you’re a Cronenberg fan or just looking for an interesting diversion from the usual horror fare, rabid is worth checking out.
A revised version is available on DVD from Somerville House.
