Review of Antiviral (2012) by Trenten B — 11 Feb 2013

Antiviral is a sick, twisted dark satire from David Cronenbergs son Brandon Cronenberg. Brandon brings his directorial debut with style, backed up by a haunting performance from Caleb Landry Jones (who I have always seen as an up 'n' comer since I saw him in First Class).

The movie is beautifully shot, and is generally set with a white backdrop that Brandon so eagerly waits to cover in black, thick, gooey blood. The directing is very meticulous, impeccably framed, and it is very apparent that Brandon definitely has some skill behind the directors chair. The story itself is a weird one, it definitely may be too outlandish for some, but it's done in a satirical way, and even with its strange and out of this world conceptions, you can't help but notice similarities between the world created in the film and ours now.

I can see the pacing of the movie being bothersome for certain people, but if you get sucked into the movie like I did, I can't see that being a real problem, only for those who generally don't have an interest in this from the beginning. I will note this movie is NOT for everyone. Things movie rather slowly, like the disease deteriorating Syd's (Caleb Landry Jones) body. It's got a very slick and ambient, yet sinister and almost sickening vibe throughout the movie. It will definitely have you rushing to wash your hands when your through with it.

While it has been made apparent that Brandon Cronenberg is following in his fathers footsteps, I can't help but seeing that as a good thing, especially after seeing this. Antiviral is a flawed movie, but it is also a very ambitious start to baby Cronenbergs career and I can't see where he goes next.