Review of Rabid (1977) by Jason M — 02 Jul 2007

Cronenberg followed up his 1975 debut Shivers, with this film, also concerning a virus that drives people mad, or rabid if you will. Instead of parasites spreading the virus, it is Marylin Chambers, who awakens after an experimental surgery to find she needs to feed on human blood, she does this with a phallic like stinger under her arm.

Although the film is not quite as tense an Shivers, it is good to see Cronenberg attempting to be more ambitious, and there are numerous genuinely frightening moments here. Cronenberg's obsessions are beginning to take shape here, horror that comes from within one's own body, science that has run amok.

Cronenberg would make films that were far more thought provoking down the road, but his skills at creating visceral horror are already in place, and he certainly laid the ground work for a truly unique and brilliant body of work.