Rabid (1977)

Captivating movie !

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

While cycling through Canada, a woman severely injured in a crash near a hospital learns that the radical surgical procedure to replace her damaged skin has resulted in a vampiric creature on her arm and creating others like her, forcing them to track them down and destroy them.This one was a pretty pleasant surprise. The majority of the good points is mostly due to its scattering of select scenes that come off as entertaining which come from the action scenes that come into play when the film gets going. From the open crash on the road to her waking up in the hospital and attacking the different patients and staff as well as the quick ambushes she gets in with the various members of the community in the barn, a neighborhood pool and inside the truckers' cab, this one here has plenty of great action scenes that keep the interest levels pretty strong. There's also the greatness of the film's signature moment, where a creature manages to make uncontrolled chaos in a crowded shopping mall which is sheer delight and manages to hold on to a few good gore gags to help it out which goes great with the various assaults on the countryside strangers that provide the film's main gore quotient to the work of the authorities to calm the various creatures spawned that have come out of the situation. There's also the fact that this one decides on having the different idea of introducing the creature that will transmit the disease rather than feed, as it makes for a strong series of dueling story lines focusing on her degenerating condition in the beginning and the outpouring of the investigation into the disease and the followers afterward. Another good thing this has going for it is the plentiful nudity going on, and with the nice gore in here from the new and quite unique prospect of the actual position of the appendage on her coming into play are what make the film entertaining. This one here doesn't really have many flaws, but they are present. One of the main ones is the fact that this one has a really slow-going second-half, right when there shouldn't be one. This section of the film is concerned with very few good ideas at the point where the disease seems to spread, and there's a lot of little shoot-overs to the couple arguing in the apartment complex that really just hopes that there's enough in it are there for the taking up of time from the other areas that could've used the time. There's also the fact that this one has a really weak ending that completely plays down what it could've done. This one really could've used a big finale compared to what it threw up before it, and to end it with such a really depressing ending really doesn't fare too well. It hurts the film somewhat, and combined with the other flaws, are all that can be lowered on the film.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity and Language.

In Camelford, while swinging his van across a narrow road to make a u- turn, a driver stalls the vehicle that does not restart. Hart Read (Frank Moore) is driving his motorcycle with his girlfriend Rose (Marilyn Chambers) and he drives off the road to avoid the collision. Hart suffers minor injuries while Rosie is injured and burned by the flames when the motorcycle explodes. The ambulance from the nearby Keloid Clinic for Plastic Surgery brings the couple and Rose, who is in coma, is submitted to an emergency surgery and to an experimental plastic-surgery technique by Dr. Dan Keloid (Howard Ryshpan) to retrieve her skin in the chest and abdomen. Hart is discharged but Rose stays in coma in the intensive care unit (ICU) to recover. Out of the blue, Rose awakens from her coma one month later and screams. A nurse helps her but is wounded by her and then he cannot remember what has happened to him. He is sent to a hospital in Montreal while Rose realizes that she needs to feed with blood. However her victims become zombie-like creatures. Rose flees from the clinic to Montreal to meet her friend Mindy Kent (Susan Roman) spreading her infection in the big city. Meanwhile Hart is seeking for her."Rabid" is a horror film by David Cronenberg that becomes better with time. In the present days, with so many news and unknown worldwide diseases, the idea of an infection that spreads in a geometric progression turning people into zombie-like creatures is totally feasible. Marilyn Chambers, from the cult adult film "Behind the Green Door", surprises with a good performance. The conclusion is deceptive and could be better, maybe due to lack of budget. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Enraivecida na Fúria do Sexo" ("Rabid in the Fury of Sex")

An effective early effort from director David Cronenberg, RABID is a disturbing tale of a city overtaken by disease and fear. A cast of unknowns work hard to make this film seem as morally depressing and hauntingly realistic as possible, and the low, almost documentary style film making and the use of Canadian cities as a setting really work in its favour. The film deals with the subject of disease - something akin to rabies in this case - spreading through a city. It starts off with small isolated attacks but soon the city is put under martial law and the infected people are being shot on sight. Disease films are a frequent fixture in Hollywood - take OUTBREAK for example - and RABID is stylish and entertaining enough, in a low budget way, to warrant repeat viewings.Marilyn Chambers I found at first to be pretty annoying. A former porn star (as the box so proudly proclaims), she has a habit of removing her top in this film, but displays precious few acting talents. However her performance grew on me as the film progressed and she even becomes quite moving at the end of the tale; her offbeat acting style makes her in some ways quietly unforgettable. The rest of the cast have little to do, while the male lead looks strangely like Christopher Walken (who went on to star in Cronenberg's THE DEAD ZONE in 1983). However all involved turn in performances that are at the least adequate.The special effects are kept to a minimum in this film, with the 'star' of the show being a strange, pulsating tube which comes out of Chambers' armpit to suck the blood of her victims. This typical Cronenbergian image is pretty sick to watch but it's what you come to expect when you're a fan of the director. There are a few explosions and shootings to keep things moving along (the shootings are all violent scenes - the best taking place in a police station and involving a contaminated police officer and his companions all armed with shotguns - it's quick, blunt, and cuts straight to the point).The attacks on unsuspecting strangers by rabid, foaming maniacs are perpetrated throughout the film and are all handled with such style that you can't help but look forward to the next one (as sick as that may sound). All this and a downbeat ending help to make RABID a small, but nonetheless powerful, outing for Cronenberg, which is a must see for any fan of his. The film is at its best when it focuses on the spread of the disease and it does pack lots of horrifying vignettes into the running time, like the bit with the machine-gunned Santa Claus. I find that it outdoes Romero's THE CRAZIES in terms of pure effectiveness.

A classic from director David Cronenberg which has hardcore porn actress Marilyn Chambers (Behind The Green Door, a porn classic just as notorious as Deep Throat) in it in her first role in a normal flick. And I must say she did well coming out of the porn scene. The flick itself is a bit outdated nowadays but it's still worth picking up due the way it was shot, It was at that time a low budget flick with simple effects and no extra lighting that gave this dark flick an extra touch. The story itself isn't creepy and it never becomes frightening but it did was a standard for a lot of horror flicks who involved a virus. After having a motorcycle accident Rose (Chambers) has to undergo surgery with a new technique but things go wrong and she becomes addicted to blood and people who are bitten are turning into some kind of zombies. It's made just before the horror heydays with the coming of the slashers. If you compare it with Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) or Halloween (1978) then it's a big laugh but still, a classic indeed with it flows here and there. Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 1/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5