Rabid (1977)

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:

Sissy Spacek was David Cronenberg's first choice to play Rose. Ivan Reitman suggested Marilyn Chambers because he wanted sex appeal.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Hart's car is attacked by a crazy, and a clean-up crew shoots and disposes of it, the cameraman who is shooting the "through the windshield" shots is clearly visible in the back seat of the car.

Quotes:

Murray Cypher: Potato man loves ketchup man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Directors: The Films of David Cronenberg (#1.10)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Hideout

Cronenberg Keeps Me Out of Canada

Rabid or Rage ( do American's therefore not know what Rabid means ) begins and ends like Lawrence of Arabia: a motorcycle crash and a high body count. The similarity ends there.

Marilyn Chambers - the woman who occupies the dreams and fantasies of millions - seemingly recovers from this accident only to develop an appetite for blood.

Rabid is a modern, urban vampire film, and who better to direct it than Cronenberg.

In the hands of another, this film would be horrifically mediocre. The lonely country lane, the frozen body, the subway attack, the Santa shooting in the mall and the dark movie theatre - Cronenberg knows how to imbue a sense of emptiness and despair into each scene. The film is full of pathos and 70's paranoia. Fear of woman (especially such a sexual one - Eve and such like), fear of government and fear of those around us - Cronenberg feeds off such hysteria, just as Chambers feeds off her victims. The underarm worm is quite clearly a female penis.

I don't mean to make Rabid sound grand or profound. It isn't really. It's just Outbreak meets Vampire Circus. I do think, however, that Cronenberg always seeks to challenge Western values and boundaries by using hidden evils, distortions and deformed humanity.

Marilyn of course looks fantastic, and she is frequently topless. As an adolescent I was attracted and haunted by the idea of being attacked by such a woman. "No, no, don't go, it's freezing cold - hold me." You know that if you do, death will shortly follow, but who could resist?