Tentacles, zombies and transhumanism at a fashion show.
After a quarrel with a friend, Rose leaves the party, gets on a scooter and speeds away furiously without paying any attention to a scorched truck. Incredibly, she just crashes into the truck. She survives the accident, but her face is seriously damaged, turning her into a monster. Her only hope for recovery and a normal life is an experimental treatment in a mysterious clinic. The effects of the operation exceed Rose’s wildest expectations. – her face looks better than it did before the accident. Without scars and mutilations, the girl transitions from a quiet mouseburger into an ambitious, creative and self-confident woman. The price of beauty is an ever worse series of nightmares and the growing need to…drink human blood. At the same time, a disease spreads around the city, causing an outbreak of unnatural rage.
“Rabid” which is directed by the sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska is a tribute to David Cronenberg and his movie “Fury” from 1977. However, in their version, the artists move away from the original and modernise history a bit. The main character is not a passive participant in surrounding events she has her own voice and control over her life. Above all, “Rabid” is a mixture of what’s best in horror films – average acting, weird crowd artists in the background, rubbery tentacles, an ugly monster, macabre scenes with a lot of blood, a pinch of cinematic self-awareness and even…a shot of Santa Claus?
world premiere: FrightFest 2019
director: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
screenwriter: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska, John Serge
cast: Laura Vandervoort, Stephen Huszar, Jen Soska, Stephen McHattie
photos: Kim Derko
editor: Erin Deck
music: Claude Foisy
horror / USA / 2019
duration: 105 min