Synopsis: An Experimental surgery leaves an injured motorcyclist with a thirst for human blood, spreading a disease that turns people into ravenous monsters.
Anyone that’s familiar with the name David Cronenberg is well aware of his approach to film. I mean, he is credited as the originator of the body horror genre for a reason. The follow up to his 1975 feature debut Shivers, Rabid continues to exhibit his distinct style that influenced the body horror boom of the 80’s.
Starring the one and only Marilyn Chambers (Beyond the Green Door) as Rose. Rabid follows the events after an unfortunate motorcycle accident she has with her boyfriend. Whisked away to a nearby plastic surgery center for an experimental surgery. Because of course that’s the first place you would take an accident victim. Anyway, the surgery is a success but there’s one small problem. Rose now has a growth under her arm with a piercing appendage and a bloodlust she can’t control. Soon she’s infecting everyone she feeds upon with rabies symptoms. Before long, half of Montreal is infected and a pandemic has ensued.
As Rose rampages her way through Montreal her infection spreads like wildfire. Luring people into an embrace only to feed her bloodthirstiness. The city officials are at a loss to stop what they perceive as a rabies outbreak. Turning the majority of townsfolk into zombie-like creatures. Soon they are vaccinating and issuing plastic cards. Essentially locking down the city, issuing shelter in place decrees and trapping its inhabitants. This theme felt oddly prophetic, giving flashbacks to 2020. Rabid was ahead of its time in that aspect. Showing us the bleak future of things to come. We might not have had the exact scenario but it did show us what a government might do in the face of an unrelenting mystery outbreak.
Cronenberg has a way of mixing the most disgusting things with hyper-sexuality. He knew exactly what he was doing in Rabid, casting Marilyn Chambers in the lead. No complaints here though. I was raised on the exploitation films of the 70’s. Chambers juxtaposes the Rose character to perfection. Riding the line between predator and prey. Exuding innocence and eroticism at the same time.
This was still fairly early in Cronenberg’s career. Long before the extreme body horror of films like The Fly (god that one still turns my stomach). That doesn’t mean there aren’t glimpses of things to come. The brief moments we see the blood seeking appendage show us what he’s capable of. The gore is not overdone and doesn’t overshadow the grim overall theme of the film. That bleak, apocalyptic tone a populace takes when it faces a rapidly spreading virus.
This movie is not perfect. It has a few parallels to Romero’s The Crazies from 4 years earlier. The pacing is a bit slow at times. It’s dark, it’s bleak but dammit if I don’t dig the hell out of this underrated gem of a movie! It has everything a degenerate body horror/exploitation film lover like me wants. Take my advice and add this one to your watchlist. As of this writing, Rabid can be found streaming on Tubi.
4 out of 5
So grab your popcorn, kill the lights and join me again tomorrow as we continue our journey on this strange little trip down the 31 Days of Horror rabbit hole. See you soon…
