Rabid

Rating:
Summary: eccentric
Review: a modern vampire story, also an epidemic started by the girl "marily chambers" who suddenly and as far as I remember without any cause transfers to a woman who can suck blood through a needle in her armpit, and also communicates a disease that is similar to rabies, whoever she sucks the blood, turns out to be a vicious creature who want to kill and bite...
a cult movie of its own kind.. nice for a young marilyn chambers character. 3 stars because of the eccentricity, and some killing scenes I still remember, like a pneumatic hammer through a car door..and wet scenes of marilyn in a 'chamber'

Rating:
Summary: eccentric
Review: a modern vampire story, also an epidemic started by the girl "marily chambers" who suddenly and as far as I remember without any cause transfers to a woman who can suck blood through a needle in her armpit, and also communicates a disease that is similar to rabies, whoever she sucks the blood, turns out to be a vicious creature who want to kill and bite...
a cult movie of its own kind.. nice for a young marilyn chambers character. 3 stars because of the eccentricity, and some killing scenes I still remember, like a pneumatic hammer through a car door..and wet scenes of marilyn in a 'chamber'

Rating:
Summary: Canadian Horror Film At Its Very Best..
Review: As a kid, I grew up on a steady diet of horror films-the Halloween franchise, Friday the 13th series, the films of the great Lucio Fulci. For some reason, David Cronenberg's films never connected with me-too scientifically oriented, socially conscious and intellectual. With the advent of DVD, I have had the chance to see both Shivers and Rabid again and my opinion of these has changed immensely. Rabid is now one of my favorite low-budget horror films of all time.
The story is simple enough: Rose, after a horrific motorcycle accident is subjected to experimental skin graft surgery whose main side effect is a hypodermic, phallus like appendage that sprouts from her armpit to feast on the blood of any human within grasp feeding her vampiric rage. Her victims in turn become George Romero-esque zombies that bite and thus spread the disease to others resulting in an epidemic zombie plague in the streets of Montreal.
The biggest surprise in this film is the convincing portrayal of the tortured Rose by porn queen Marilyn Chambers (Behind the Green Door). Marilyn Chambers is excellent and provides enough sexual chemistry to keep her character always interesting. It is a wonder that she never pursued mainstream films after this and instead returned to her lucrative porn career that still continues today. The rest of the actors are above average as well.
Clearly, Cronenberg is a visionary genius of the highest order foreshadowing both the AIDS crisis of the nineteen eighties and the recent SARS paranoia. Here, he absolutely makes the most of his limited budget to turn in a unique and interesting film that will enthrall genre fans.
Astute viewers will be able to see what a huge influence this film was on later horror staples like Romero's Dawn Of The Dead and the recent 28 Days Later. Truth be told, I have grown to enjoy this film even more than Dawn Of The Dead-horror fans will cry heresy, but the shorter running time of Rabid, the wonderful acting of Marilyn Chambers and the ample gore and nudity make this a worthwhile horror effort that merits repeated viewings.
The DVD itself is average: the print is quite grainy in places and the audio is crackly and suffers from static in places. Also, the aspect ratio seems off as the end credits are cut off on the left side of the screen. The DVD offers a grainy as hell, and quite comical trailer. Also, a director's commentary by Cronenberg plus a lenghty sit down interview with this talented director. Finally, bios are provided for both Cronenberg and Chambers, a great resource for Chamber's porn enthusiastic fans as most of her XXX films are listed here.
Despite the DVD's shortcomings, I highly recommend this great film, a true staple of seventies horror. Before the genre got bogged down by the self-referential and cliche humour of the late eighties and nineties, fans could always count on directors like Carpenter, Cronenberg, Craven and Hooper to offer thought provoking and challenging films.

Rating:
Summary: Canadian Horror Film At Its Very Best..
Review: As a kid, I grew up on a steady diet of horror films-the Halloween franchise, Friday the 13th series, the films of the great Lucio Fulci. For some reason, David Cronenberg's films never connected with me-too scientifically oriented, socially conscious and intellectual. With the advent of DVD, I have had the chance to see both Shivers and Rabid again and my opinion of these has changed immensely. Rabid is now one of my favorite low-budget horror films of all time.
The story is simple enough: Rose, after a horrific motorcycle accident is subjected to experimental skin graft surgery whose main side effect is a hypodermic, phallus like appendage that sprouts from her armpit to feast on the blood of any human within grasp feeding her vampiric rage. Her victims in turn become George Romero-esque zombies that bite and thus spread the disease to others resulting in an epidemic zombie plague in the streets of Montreal.
The biggest surprise in this film is the convincing portrayal of the tortured Rose by porn queen Marilyn Chambers (Behind the Green Door). Marilyn Chambers is excellent and provides enough sexual chemistry to keep her character always interesting. It is a wonder that she never pursued mainstream films after this and instead returned to her lucrative porn career that still continues today. The rest of the actors are above average as well.
Clearly, Cronenberg is a visionary genius of the highest order foreshadowing both the AIDS crisis of the nineteen eighties and the recent SARS paranoia. Here, he absolutely makes the most of his limited budget to turn in a unique and interesting film that will enthrall genre fans.
Astute viewers will be able to see what a huge influence this film was on later horror staples like Romero's Dawn Of The Dead and the recent 28 Days Later. Truth be told, I have grown to enjoy this film even more than Dawn Of The Dead-horror fans will cry heresy, but the shorter running time of Rabid, the wonderful acting of Marilyn Chambers and the ample gore and nudity make this a worthwhile horror effort that merits repeated viewings.
The DVD itself is average: the print is quite grainy in places and the audio is crackly and suffers from static in places. Also, the aspect ratio seems off as the end credits are cut off on the left side of the screen. The DVD offers a grainy as hell, and quite comical trailer. Also, a director's commentary by Cronenberg plus a lenghty sit down interview with this talented director. Finally, bios are provided for both Cronenberg and Chambers, a great resource for Chamber's porn enthusiastic fans as most of her XXX films are listed here.
Despite the DVD's shortcomings, I highly recommend this great film, a true staple of seventies horror. Before the genre got bogged down by the self-referential and cliche humour of the late eighties and nineties, fans could always count on directors like Carpenter, Cronenberg, Craven and Hooper to offer thought provoking and challenging films.

Rating:
Summary: No Extras!
Review: At last Rabid comes to DVD, (and VHS again) but without any seeming extras. At least the current VHS copy has the theatrical trailer and a 1995 interview with Cronenberg. A minor Cronenberg in comparison to Shivers, but still an interesting and provocative film, Rabid deserves better treatment than this. I can understand the disc not containing the Cronenberg Interview as it is probably copyrighted by the previous holders of Rabid, the rights of which were not purchased along with the film by the new distributors, but where is the theatrical trailer? If even these minor extras are not included, then my old VHS copy will have proven a better investment than this DVD or tape. And as for the packaging design...

Rating:
Summary: Jogging Kills
Review: Consecutive cinematic representation of Canada's urban/rural phenomenon, Rabid transcends language barriers with macabre notions that encompass the young French Canadian backlash to the banality of life in towns with long French names. The opening sequence establishes omnipresence of car culture, existing as entities that envelop the frame, the low angle shots depicting the potentiality for exodus as larger than life. Both vehicles function by causing violent crashes by which the human body is augmented and then reconstructed thanks to the progress of science. Here the workingman has failed to "load the Econoline van", a point hammered home by nagging wife, Francis McDormand's French Canadian twin no doubt. Highlighting both the freedom and subsequent limitations of the young French Canadian and the problematic family unit, the film's introduction coincides with the climate of stagflation, and the subsequent oil crisis. Deconstructing car culture ensures that jogging does kill!
Producer Ivan Reitman came up with the idea of casting Marylin Chambers ... as a cost effective way of solidifying box office draw. Marilyn's previous "experience" worked with the Cinepix repor of soft-core sex flicks. This taboo star-system was a compromise of cumfort zones. Coinciding with the AIDS outbreak Chambers, walking virus, is an apologetic martyr of "very experimental surgery" going wrong, her mutated body protruding a blood-sucking phallus concealed in a vaginal orifice, common to the left armpit. What warrants explanation here however is if science was able to create a body with a taste for blood, why did mind not develop its rabidity after the barnyard romp with the cow? Blocking as oversight, her journey from the rural medical clinic to urban Montreal is littered with the usual drunken Indians, horny truck drivers and "arguably" the best diner food on the Trans Canada. And after quarantining all of Montreal, not even Santa Claus can escape paying the ultimate price.
The film grossed seven million, despite production costs of under $700,000 Canadian dollars. Consecutive financial successes can only intimate that Cronenberg's crew must have received payment in rashers of back bacon. The financial climate of the late 1970's obviated tax incentives to be administered to cinematic investors. By putting money into a Canadian project, subsequently boosting the trajectory of Canadian production and content, the investor could write off all investment and even the notion of future contributions for tax purposes, despite obliviation to notions of industry protocol.

Rating:
Summary: Rabid- disease horror from the apocalyptic seventies
Review: Cronenberg's tale of a viral driven apocalypse pulls the viewer into a world of death and contagion. RABID, along with other early Cronenberg films, deals with the horror from within our own bodies. The story centers on the birth of a disease, which eventually spreads to a large city and causes social breakdown. With its odd storyline, dreary landscapes and creepy music, RABID stands out from other horror films of the 70's in that it has Cronenberg's "body conscious horror" philosophy behind it. Originally released on Warner home video in the 80's and on a hard to find import laserdisc from Japan, this DVD of RABID is the best the film has ever looked. The image exhibits little grain, the colors are strong (for early Cronenberg), and the sound is clear. It is presented here in full screen (1:33:1), which is possibly what the film was shot in. Also included on the disc is the full-length theatrical trailer. If you're a fan of 70's horror, Rabid is required viewing.

Rating:
Summary: Rabid with Marilyn Chambers
Review: David's first pick for this movie, was Sissy Spacek, but she refused to do it. However , this movie wouldnt have fit her, this part really calls for someone sexy, not that she isnt sexy but this part required a blond bombshell. Enter Marilyn Chambers.

Marilyn plays Rose, a chick who has a bike accident and is experimented on resulting in a disease on anyone that touches her and turning them flesh eating mad . Nice plot, kinda reminds me of an aids epidemic or something like that. Now that would be scary.

You can catch this film on the Independent Film Channel during their "Indie Screams" week. (Check local listings.)

The gory. A nurse getting her finger cut off by a doctor and doctor starts eating the finger!!!

The good. Marilyn in the nude! (I wish there more of these scenes), There is also a great car crash in the movie where a car falls on the highway only to be run over by a truck. (What bad luck for the driver)

The shocking. A dept. store Santa Claus being gunned down (Accidentally).This scene probably is the most scandalous in the film, even I was suprised that something like this was written in the script. Shame on you David. :-)

The saddest. Some of the music is well done,especially the sad melodramatic music. The end is sad too, (Poor Marilyn being thrown in the trash truck after she herself is the victim of the virus she has spread). Her acting in this movie is pretty good, I was suprised.

Great funny lines like " what the fu*k are we running here a nursery." "You carry a plague youve killed hundreds of people!."

The best thing I can say is that it has some great shots of Marilyn Chambers beautiful figure. Wow!!! No wonder she makes her living off the xxx industry nowadays.

She does kinda have that Cybill Shepherd type that look that just oozes goddessness, so her presence in the film is felt.

My vote a 6 and half out of 10. Believe it or not this film cost an average of $90,000 to make, David is no cheapskate.

Rating:
Summary: Nips, Tucks and Foam
Review: Director David Cronenberg does creepy well. This may be because he seems a little creepy himself -- like a stodgy, corduroy-wearing history professor who appears totally harmless but secretly likes to handcuff women to bedposts then place live tarantulas on their naked torsos. I doubt the director is quite that extreme, but it's that kind of perversity that colors most of his movies, especially those made in the late '70s through the 1980s. Cronenberg's second feature film, "Rabid," straddles horror and sci-fi (as do many of his movies) with its story about a young woman, Rose, who, after receiving some experimental skin grafts following a horrific motorcycle accident, develops a need for human blood (given that Rose is played by Marilyn Chambers, one might even say an "Insatiable" need for blood). But it's not your usual modern day vampire tale. For starters, Rose doesn't sprout fangs but rather an orifice in her armpit that resembles an inflamed sphincter, through which a phallic looking proboscis emerges and punctures the victim. After which the victim generally starts foaming at the mouth and attacking whoever's handy. Before long, Montreal is under martial law as its citizens become, well, you know...

Though not Cronenberg's best movie, "Rabid" holds up to his later works like "Scanners" and "Videodrome." Despite a low budget, "Rabid" has some relatively convincing special effects, and the dreary location shots (made drearier by the dank weather) help establish an overall feeling of desolation. The epidemic and martial law aspects to his story are quite relevant today, and if he'd played up the plastic surgery angle a bit more the movie would be triply prescient. (Imagine if "Rabid" were made today, then he could get cameos from such surgically reconstructed celebs as Joan Rivers, Bruce Jenner and Michael and LaToya Jackson.) Cronenberg's script is lightly peppered with his silly sense of humor (a plastic surgeon named Dr. Keloid; a health minister's advice for avoiding rabies: "Don't get bit"), but the material is played so seriously that the jokes have a dry irony rather than overt goofiness. Still, for all its merits, "Rabid" probably wouldn't have received nearly as much attention had it not been for the stunt casting of porn star Chambers (Al Adamson tried a similar ploy when he cast Georgina Spelvin in "I Spit on Your Corpse"). She's actually pretty good in this movie. On the commentary track Cronenberg wonders why Chambers didn't go on to star in more mainstream movies, but this fact doesn't surprise me. Even today, when the E! Entertainment channel regularly profiles porn stars, adult performers usually are only cast in mainstream movies as a joke or to give low-budget films a publicity boost. Chambers may have proved she could do more on film than just sex acts, but in mainstream Hollywood she'd always be "just a porn star."

The extras on the Ventura Special Edition disc not only include Cronenberg's commentary but a 30-minute interview as well. There's also the theatrical trailer and written bios on Cronenberg and Chambers. Wished Chambers provided commentary as well (was she even asked?), but her absence is hardly detrimental to this DVD package. Definite must for fans of David Cronenberg, Marilyn Chambers and low-budget creepiness.


Rating:
Summary: Good, not great, Cronenberg picture
Review: Every once in awhile when I am feeling reflective I like to watch a David Cronenberg film. I have seen quite a few of them at this point, from some of his earliest stuff like "Shivers" to his seminal reworking of "The Fly" starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. One thing you will always get out of a Cronenberg film is a serious look at how technology and human beings interact. Like science fiction author J.G. Ballard, Cronenberg's films embrace a synthesis of man and machine that is exceedingly grim, not to mention gory as all get out. The overarching theme in his cinematic examinations seems to be that humans simply do not know enough about the technology they develop, or if they do, their arrogance in the ultimate abilities of mankind always leads them charging into experiments despite the risks. That we are just not far seeing enough to predict the outcome of using new drugs, messing around with human genetics, or exploring future psychopathologies about car accidents may be a good message to take from a Cronenberg film. "Rabid" constitutes Cronenberg's cosmology in embryonic form. Released in the late 1970s, this film is classic Cronenberg made with a low budget and the inclusion of adult film star Marilyn Chambers in the lead role. While "Rabid" suffers from its miniscule budget and slightly uneven pacing, even the most jaded of horror film fans will find plenty to like in this picture.

"Rabid" opens with an unfortunate motorcycle accident that injures Hart Read and his girlfriend Rose. Fortunately for the two cyclists, the incident occurs within shouting distance of a medical clinic run by Doctor Daniel Keloid, a surgeon specializing in a radical new reconstructive surgery. Keloid wants to mass market a type of skin that will grow on its own once grafted to the human body. He sees the arrival of Rose as a perfect opportunity to test out his new invention, and he promptly does so without obtaining the permission of Rose or her injured boyfriend. Messing around with Mother Nature is always a big no-no in a Cronenberg film, and "Rabid" is no different. Rose slowly recovers from her injuries but soon realizes that the operation changed her in fundamental ways. For one thing, she has a strange wound under her armpit and a ravenous urge to feed upon the blood of other people. This blood hunger soon inspires Rose to flee from the clinic, and it isn't long before she wreaks havoc on any members of the local population who fall into her orbit. Worse, her "wound" turns out to harbor a particularly vicious little tooth used to siphon off the red stuff from her victims. In the process of feeding, the tooth spreads a sort of super rabies that turns people into drooling, mindless zombies. It isn't long before the rabies spreads like a wildfire through Montreal as both Rose and the victims of her attacks infect other people. The only hope for civilization is to find a way to discover who is the carrier of the disease (the person who has it but is immune to its effects) in order to fashion a vaccine.

I cannot count the times I said to myself as I watched Rabid that this movie would have been much better with a big budget. Cronenberg is constructing an apocalyptic film, but is constantly undermined by his inability to create a sense of impending doom. At one point in the movie, Rose wanders through a shopping mall after the public is fully aware that a killer plague is on the loose. Not only are people wandering through the mall as though nothing is happening, but the soldiers guarding the place don't seem in the least bit concerned that customers are roaming around. They actually gun someone down in the mall, apparently never realizing none of this would be necessary if the government ordered everyone to stay home until the crisis blows over. Moreover, people still drive through the streets in cars despite the intermittent attacks of zombies who throw themselves on the windshields of the vehicles. The government does take some action: sharpshooters on roofs pick off the zombies attacking cars, two or three guys in decontamination suits spray a cleanser on the automobile, and a garbage truck pulls up to dispose of the body. Still, what are you doing on the streets if you are not sick? GO HOME AND LIVE!

I still found much to like about "Rabid." Marilyn Chambers does an adequate job of portraying the increasingly panicked Rose, and even does a few nude scenes just in case you forgot about her background. The slobbering zombies occasionally provoke interest, although the makeup is strictly no budget stuff. There's a nice car crash, decent shootings, and the tooth in the armpit thing is somewhat disturbing. I did chuckle over naming a plastic surgeon who is developing a new type of skin "Keloid," since the dictionary defines that term as "a thick scar resulting from excessive growth of fibrous tissue." I even liked the tragic ending that leaves us guessing about the fate of the human race. Overall, though, "Rabid" is arguably a minor entry in David Cronenberg's filmography. I am not saying this movie is bad, but watch "Dead Ringers," "Scanners," or "The Fly" before viewing this effort.

The DVD offers only a trailer and a few bios. The transfer of the film is not the best I have seen, but is watchable. I don't understand why Cronenberg does not record commentaries for his films (at least he hasn't on the few I have watched on DVD), but he really should do so in the future. Despite its notable flaws, "Rabid" does emit a downbeat message, some gore, a few funny scenes, and some nice shots of Canada.