Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg considers Rabid to be his “first epic”. And like
most good movies, it almost didn’t get made. After Cronenberg’s first feature Shivers (1975), was considered too edgy,
he struggled to get Rabid off of the
ground for a few years due to the CDFC not investing. Then, he almost backed
out of the project (originally titled Mosquito)
when it was greenlit due to doubting the premise. However, cooler heads
prevailed and Rabid, a film that’s
said by many to be a foretelling of aids, was made in Quebec
and Montreal on
a budget of just $560,00.00. The movie needed a name attached to it that’s
marketable, yet the production couldn’t afford a real actress. So, they hired
popular 70’s porn star Marilyn Chambers over their original choice of Sissy
Spacek. It worked out for the better in a sense, because you get to see Marilyn
Chambers nude several times. And Cronenberg, himself, stated that he wouldn’t
deprive his audience of not seeing Marilyn naked. You gotta appreciate a good
director who cares about his audience, don’t ya?
STARRING- ANEURIN BARNARD, JAMES COSMO AND WUNMI MOSAKU
DIRECTOR- CIARAN FOY
Synopsis taken from IMDb
Tommy Cowley is a young father inflicted with chronic agoraphobia since his wife was brutally attacked by a gang of a twisted feral children. Trapped in the dilapidated suburbia of Edenstown, he finds himself terrorized by the same gang, who now seem intent on taking his baby daughter. Torn between the help of an understanding nurse and a vigilante priest, Tommy sets out to learn the nightmarish truth surrounding these hooded children. He also discovers that to be free of his fears, he must finally face the demons of his past and enter the one place that he fears the most- the abandoned tower block known as the Citadel.
This movie caught my attention because it's an Irish horror film, and I can't think of too many Irish horror films I've seen. So instantly I was intrigued to watch Citadel. The trailer was well put together, it didn't show you enough to know exactly what the film's about, but it showed you enough and made you want to see it.
It was a major letdown to find this movie to be somewhat of a dud. It didn't deliver like I was hoping and the ending was anticlimatic. The film is largely based around Tommy's agoraphobia, and this is what I found to be disappointing to an extent. I like that they did this, but they should have focused more on making this film and the little children scarier.
This film had a few good jump scenes in it and the suspense is strong, it's the lack of it that makes this movie drag on and become boring.
I thought the acting was good, but overall this movie didn't meet it's expectations, despite the critical appraise it's getting. It didn't live up to the backing it had and failed to meet it's potential.
The film centers around Tommy how much of a victim he is after seeing his wife murdered. The scene where she's murdered is one of the best parts of the film for me. Tommy is stuck in the elevator and the doors won't open, so he's stuck hopelessly watching her demise. This made me think of how frustrating and horrifying it would be to be in Tommy's shoes in this situation.
After that he becomes the definition of a victim, he even takes classes to help make himself stop looking so pathetic.He walks in short, quick steps and hunches. This makes the tense scenes even more suspenseful and chilling. It's truly a shame they left so much of the movie bleak and didn't build more suspense and jump scenes.
The children wearing white hoodies reminded me of David Cronenberg's The Brood. They were mysterious children who wreaked havoc. I did like the look of the kids faces. I liked the makeup used and the design. I don't want to give too much away so I'll leave it at that.
There are some good chase scenes in this film that I liked. They were filled with high tension and dread. Tommy being stranded at night time (the worst time to be out) in an area he isn't familiar with.
He is pursued by the children and we get some shots of their faces and begin to think something is definitely wrong with this picture and that Tommy may be in over his head. Once his child is kidnapped by the children, Tommy finds the priest and joins forces.
The priest is deranged and seems psychotic. Tommy needs him though, because only the priest can help him get his kid back. The priest's plan is to blow up the Citadel, where all the children live. Tommy is terrified of this idea but will do whatever it takes to get his daughter back.
Ultimately, this film has the setup to be a great horror film but it drops the ball. They did a great job of making us know how terrified Tommy always was, but there was nothing there to terrify us, the viewer.
RATED- R RUNT TIME- 92 MINS WRITERS- DAVID CRONENBERG STARRING- OLIVER REED, SAMANTHA EGGAR AND ART HINDLE DIRECTOR- DAVID CRONENBERG
Synopsis taken from IMDb A mans wife is under the care of an eccentric and unconventional psychologist who uses innovative theatrical techniques to breach the psychological blocks in his patients. When their daughter comes back from a visit with her mother and is covered with bruises and welts, the father attempts to bar his wife from seeing the daughter but faces resistance from the secretive psychologist. Meanwhile, the wife's mother and father are attacked by strangely deformed children, and the man begins to suspect a connection with the psychologists methods.
Knowing this film wasn't just any film but a David Cronenberg film really got my blood pumping. For those of you who are familiar with Mr. Cronenberg you know that this guy directs the hell out of some movies. He is a genius of horror. His horror is different than typical horror, he goes crazy with his films. I always liked to think of his films as acid trips on film. His ideas are totally off the wall but brilliant, and just demented enough to work.
I first became a fan of David Cronenberg as a child, I was probably around ten years old when I first saw his amazing remake of The Fly (1986) and it blew me away. It scared me but it enthralled me. I became obsessed and it still remains my 2ND favorite Sci-Fi movie ever, my first being Aliens (1986).
So I had a rough idea of what I was getting myself into with The Brood, and I was more than ready to experience yet another Cronenberg masterpiece. And I wasn't let down.
From the beginning of the film I got the vibe it was giving off and could tell right away that this was going to be a layered story and probably have some twists to it. The music set the mood well kept me focused and trying to understand what was going on and who was committing the murders. When all of the main people who could be considered suspects aren't the ones at fault, I started to sense Cronenberg working his mindscrew tactics to build up what would ultimately be a gory and disturbing truth.
To sum it up Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar) has been focusing her anger and emotion into physical beings of deformed children who seek her revenge on anyone who's caused her any pain, including stemming back to her childhood. When these creepy children show up the crap hits the fan.
After one of the children dies and the lead characters come to inspect the specimen they find that it has no bellybutton and thus it is not human, nor naturally born. We also discover that they have a sack on their backs in between their shoulder blades that holds their life fluid. When the sack dries out the children die.
This leads to an unforgettable finale where Nola is confronted by her husband Frank (Art Hindle). Upon 'airing their dirty laundry' the bloody truth comes out showing us what real horrors have been going on behind the scenes the whole time. It's just sick and twisted enough to accomplish a profound conclusion.
The best part and the hardest part are the same scene. We watch Nola reveal the sack hanging from her stomach that is her means to give birth to her deformed and manifested children. Very serious scene that takes you aback.
However in the head of conflict, to reveal how sick and disturbed she is she bites into the sack so she can dig the infant out...and she then proceeds to lick it clean like a cat. True Cronenberg for you, you never leave unsatisfied and you he never ceases to go where you wouldn't expect.
So without giving too much away for those of you who have yet to see this, I'll cut this short. But I suggest you give this movie a shot, you have nothing to lose. Sit back and let yourself be shocked.
This is one of Cronenbergs best films and I think I even liked it more than Scanners. I liked Scanners alot. The Fly remains supreme however, I believe that to be David Cronenberg's true mark of greatness.
RATING-R RUN TIME-103 MINS WRITERS-DAVID CRONENBERG STARRING-JENNIFER O'NEILL, STEPHEN LACK, PATRICK McGOOHAN DIRECTOR-DAVID CRONENBERG
Synopisis taken from IMDb Darrly Revok is the most powerful of all the scanners, and is the head of the underground scanner movement for world domination. Scanners have great psychic power, strong enough to control minds; they can inflict enormous pain/damage on their victims. Doctor Paul Ruth finds a scanner that Revok hasn't, and converts him to their cause- to destroy the underground movement.
I'm a HUGE David Cronenberg fan, The Fly is one of my all-time favorite sci fi films ever. This guy is a legend of the cinema, so I'm always stoked to check out a new film by him. Especially a movie by him that has a notorious head exploding scene. But it's safe to say my expectations were pretty high...
The movie started off with a good flow, the acting seemed strong, convincing story and well directed. It keeps you enthralled, looking and waiting for the next crazy corner this film was obviously taking.
I thought this film had solid characters and character developement. The effects were well done and the movie delivered. However, it wasn't Cronenberg's best in my eyes. I expected more but I wasn't really let down by this film, I still very much enjoyed it.
One of my main flaws with the film is that i thought it dragged on a little, but the fact that it was creative as hell kept me watching. I didn't know what I was getting into, just that I was in for a Cronenberg head trip.
The ending of this film was good and had a twist that I can't say I didn't see coming but it didn't effect the film in a negative way. I do feel that there should have (could have) been more story to it than there was. I guess that's what Scanners 2 and 3 are but I can't say I'm looking forward to jumping into them. The fact that I didn't even know they did sequels signals the alarm in my mind.
Cronenberg did what he does best and that's deliver a movie that is a totally crazy idea but makes it work wonders on screen. While it wasn't his strongest film it didn't hurt anything for his career and it won't hurt other people to watch if they enjoy good films.
