Rabid (1977)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg (writer)

Release Date:

8 April 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Pray it doesn't happen to you.

Plot:

A young woman develops a taste for human blood after undergoing experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into rabid, blood-thirsty zombies who proceed to infect others, which turns into a city-wide epidemic.

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Accident | Vampire | Disaster | Rabies

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Marilyn Chambers	...	Rose
Frank Moore	...	Hart Read
Joe Silver	...	Murray Cypher
Howard Ryshpan	...	Dr. Dan Keloid
Patricia Gage	...	Dr. Roxanne Keloid
Susan Roman	...	Mindy Kent
Roger Periard	...	Lloyd Walsh
Lynne Deragon	...	Nurse Louise
Terry Schonblum	...	Judy Glasberg
Victor Désy	...	Claude LaPointe
Julie Anna	...	Nurse Rita
Gary McKeehan	...	Smooth Eddy
Terence G. Ross	...	Farmer
Miguel Fernandes	...	Man In Cinema
Robert O'Ree	...	Police Sergeant

Also Known As:

Rage (USA)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Italy:VM14 | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Ireland:18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

Trivia:

A poster for Carrie (1976) is visible after Rose walks out of the porn theatre. Sissy Spacek, who played Carrie in that film, was the first choice for Rose but was turned down because of her Texas accent.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Rose is wandering through the streets at night, she enters a cinema hall. As she opens the glass door, a couple of crewmembers and spotlights are reflected in it.

Quotes:

Murray Cypher: Potato man loves ketchup man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in David Cronenberg: Long Live the New Flesh (1986)

Soundtrack:

Vulcain

Creepy early Cronenberg

The second big-screen feature from Canadian horror genius David Cronenberg was this twisted well-done low budgeter.

Following a motorcycle wreck, a young woman receives skin grafts that cause her to have a murderous thrust for blood - which leads to a deadly plague.

Rabid is one nicely done little shocker. It has a clever storyline that's a unique take on the vampire/zombie genres. The makeup work is gruesomely good, the atmosphere cold and fitting, and the low-budget ambiguously well used to create a horror film that was a bit ahead of its time. In addition the cast isn't bad. Star Marylin Chambers, though better known as a porn actress, does a decent performance as the victim of the strange infection. Frank Moore is also good as Chambers' boyfriend who must save her before disaster strikes.

While granted that Rabid isn't as great as the films that Cronenberg would later unleash (The Brood, Videodrome, Dead Zone etc.) it is never the less a solid sophomore effort that well-foreshadowed the greatness Cronenberg would achieve in his later films.

*** out of ****