Rabid (2019) Movie Review
Written By: FDMR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Directors: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Producers: Charlie Dorfman, David Gilbery, Larry Howard, Martin Andrew Lyon, et. al.
Writer: John Serge
Date Released: December 13, 2019
Cast:
Laura Vandervoort as Rose
Benjamin Hollingsworth as Brad Hart
Ted Atherton as Dr. William Burroughs
Hanneke Talbot as Chelsea
Stephen Huszar as Dominic
Mackenzie Gray as Gunter
Stephen McHattie as Dr. Keloid
Rating = 3 /5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Rose is a fashion designer with a prestigious design firm. One night when coming home from a party, Rose gets hit by a car and suffers a serious injury to her face. While recovering from her deformed face, she is given the opportunity to undergo experimental reconstructive surgery whereby placing a certain substance over her wound. But what Rose doesn’t realize is that the surgery comes at an infectious cost.
Gore Factor
There is plenty of blood and gore in the movie. There is this woman who gets severely disfigured after having an accident, the skin of her lower jaw and lip gets torn off and exposes her bloody gums and teeth. There are disturbing scenes like the man gets stabbed in the neck by a tentacle and dies and a woman commits suicide by slitting her throat.
The Grave Review
The Rabid (2019) movie opens with Rose enjoying her life as an upcoming fashions designer for a prestigious couture firm. One night, after partying, she got involved in a car crash. Her face was extensively damaged and deformed. As such she became distraught and helpless and tries to seek help from a doctor even on an experimental treatment.
At the Burroughs Clinic, the director (Greg Bryk) offers Rose a whole new chance at life in the form of an experimental stem cell treatment. With the post-surgical support of two former co-workers, her best friend Chelsea (Hanneke Talbot) and photographer Brad (Benjamin Hollingsworth), Rose begins to pick up the pieces of her life.
As Rose gets got back to work and begins to reclaim all that was lost, a bizarrely mutated strain of rabies starts to spread across the city. With the outbreak hitting so close to home, Rose starts to question if she is somehow linked to the health crisis. Could she be patient zero?
Rabid is a science fiction based on body horror with elements of the psychological thriller. A bizarre tale that steers away from the original plot, the Soska Sisters have crafted a wonderfully twist into unconscious desires, psychological monsters, the world of beauty, and much more. So much more than a flat tale, Rabid provides a million layers to its story and coats them in dripping bloody goodness.
In the lead, Vandervoort does an exceptional job of bringing the main character of Rose to life. Initially a meek woman with a tragic past, her (surgical) transformation allows her the confidence to strike out and take risks, which ultimately pays off, career-wise. Through her newfound confidence, she achieves her greatest potential post-treatment, even if the consequences for this are ultimately dire. Her perfect counterpart, Chelsea is self-absorbed enough to overvalue her own beauty, but kind-hearted enough to be there for her foster sister/friend when Rose is most in need. She’s the beautiful runway model with a heart—flighty at times, but with the best of intentions.
Of the film’s actors, Hollingsworth does an excellent job of toeing the fine line between doting suitor and slightly too available friend. This adds a level of intrigue as viewers are continually forced to consider his motives. Similarly, Bryk’s director is a little too altruistic from the get-go, allowing the actor to deliver an exceptionally understated performance as a modern villain. As Rose’s boss, Gray’s Gunter is equal parts ridiculous and obnoxious, comedic at times, but always wonderful in his role. And while they are only given bit parts,
Besides its reworked screenplay and excellent cast, Rabid can also claim wonderfully sullen and muted cinematography that flawlessly sets the eerie and dark mood of the entire story. In addition to this, there is a superb attention to detail in the special FX makeup that truly makes Rose’s disfiguring injury grotesque.
Because of the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Rabid (2019) three graves out of five graves.
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