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Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver, Howard Ryshpan, Patricia Gage ... see more see more... , Susan Roman , Roger Periard , Tony Angelo , Victor Désy , Richard W. Farrell , Miguel Fernandes , Bob Girolami , Harry Hill , Una Kay , Denis Lacroix , Peter MacNeill , Kirk McColl , Gary McKeehan , Jack Messinger , Robert O'Ree , Riva Spier , Vlasta Vrana , Mark Walker , Allan Moyle , Murray Smith , Jerome Tiberghien , Louis Negin , John Gilbert , John Boylan , Julie Anna , Lynne Deragon , Terence G. Ross , Terry Schonblum

For his second commercial feature, following a pair of experimental films and 1977's Shivers, Canadian horror auteur David Cronenberg continued to mine the themes of disease and mutation that were alr... read more read more...eady becoming his perennial concerns. Marilyn Chambers stars as Rose, an attractive young woman who becomes horribly injured in a motorcycle accident. Spirited away to the clinic of Drs. Dan and Roxanne Keloid (Howard Ryshpan and Patricia Gage), a pair of experimental plastic surgeons, Rose becomes an unwitting guinea pig in an operation that grafts genetically modified tissue into her body. Waking from her coma to find she is unable to ingest normal food, Rose unwittingly feeds on human blood by means of a phallic organ that emerges from a vulval orifice in her armpit. Within hours of providing Rose with sustenance, her victims fall prey to an incurable, highly contagious disease that turns them into raving lunatics who foam at the mouth and attack others indiscriminately. Soon, Montreal is under martial law, but nobody can find the Typhoid Mary whose vampiric urges are driving the epidemic -- not even Hart (Frank Moore), Rose's befuddled boyfriend. Although she is best-known for her starring role in the crossover porn epic Behind the Green Door, Chambers actually received her start in features with 1970's The Owl and the Pussycat. Rabid also stars TV and stage veteran Joe Silver as Murray Cypher, a mutual friend of Hart and the Keloids. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

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47% liked it

6,738 ratings

Critics

61% liked it

18 critics

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Release Date: January 1, 1979

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DVD Release Date: October 24, 2000

Stats: 380 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (380)

  • kenstachnik
    March 26, 2011
    kenstachnik
    Hands down the best Canadian zombie film starring a porn star.
  • WrenchLT
    January 9, 2011
    WrenchLT
    Yet more gross-out fun from Cronenberg. This is basically Shivers again on a much larger scale as the chaos and madness of rabies infected people plague the city of Montreal thanks to the vampirous Marilyn Chambers and her nasty armpit. If you liked Shivers and other infection/pl... read moreague movies like 28 days Later than this is worth a viewing.
  • ajv2688
    January 4, 2011
    ajv2688
    Although this movie has the Cronenberg style of gory grotesque horror sci-fi, the story isn't very good, and the ending is bad. Overall, this movie is okay.
  • SirPant
    September 30, 2009
    SirPant
    Quite good Zombie film but not as good as Cronenberg's previous effort, Shivers. Worth watching for the late great Joe Silver alone!
  • matertenebraum
    August 25, 2009
    matertenebraum
    David Cronenberg's second major movie can be viewed as a kind of sequel to "Shivers," which, in more ways than one, deals with similar themes and issues as that of the aforementioned movie. Whilst Cronenberg showed originality and a genuine talent during each of the movies he mad... read moree in the 1970's and early 1980's, it probably wasn't till "The Fly" and "Dead Ringers" that finally confirmed him as one of the greatest and most talented film-makers working today. Whilst movies such as "Rabid" and "The Brood" merely suggest a strong and original presence of talent coming from behind the camera (With, perhaps, an edge of genius), if one is watch each of Cronenberg's movies from "Shivers" onwards (Ending with his most recent "Crash"), his career is an interesting one to follow, simply because its obvious how his worked has matured and improved over the several decades, whilst following virtually identical themes and motives throughout. Cronenberg's obessions and passions are obvious in every one of his pictures, making him the true author of all his movies.

    "Rabid" is the mildly shocking story of a bizarre strain of rabies which spreads across many citizens of Montreal, following a revolutionary skin-graft operation which takes place on a beautiful, young motorcyclist (Maralyn Chambers).

    In its favour, "Rabid" is an automatically above-par horror tale, simply because its fascinating in a way most horror movies are not. Cronenberg also shows more control and ability than with "Shivers" this time around, with an improved narrative and a better control over his characters. Considering its low budget origins, it's generally quite a well made picture, and, because Cronenberg is so very fascinated with 'The changing of the flesh' or 'The new flesh' (A theme in virtually all of his pictures'), it becomes equally as fascinating for his audience. We come away asking questions at the end of the picture; whilst "Rabid" may be a clear fantasy, it also works as a metaphore for the outbreak of any disease. It also has numerous disturbing and memorable images, now something we should come to expect in a Cronenberg movie. There's a wonderful air of sexuality in the movie, too, and, in the past, I've read some good writings on the picture, where themes such as loneliness and want play an important role in its narrative.

    However, the film is also diappointing in many ways. The picture soon becomes repetitive when it should probably be taking a different Road altogether - Watching Ms. Chambers drain blood from victim after victim soon becomes tiresome (Though it's important to note that during such scenes, the movie is mostly un-gory and horrid - Being gruesome isn't what Cronenberg wants to do here). The movie also boasts some incredibly bad performances; whilst Chambers isn't bad (Her performance holds parallels with that of Natasha Henstridge from "Species), Frank More is truly terrible as her boyfriend. There is also big questions hanging over Chamber's motives in the movie - One can't help but wonder why she doesn't do one in a million things to stop her blood-obsessed rage e.g. Get her arm cut off! We're just not told enough about what the disease has done to Chambers; does she want to kill? If not, why doesn't she get help? If she does want to kill, what caused this? Has the strange penis-object taken partial control of her brain too?

    Perhaps the film's most ameturish and significant aspect is in the way the script never actually explains how Chambers develops the blood-sucking 'Penis' in her arm - Whilst Cronenberg's original cut of the movie had a scene left in to give an explanation, it was eventually removed because he felt it broke the tension. It's probably the script that's the movies biggest fault, or maybe we can credit it more to Cronenberg's liking for cutting-to-the-bone during editing.

    Overall, "Rabid" is a decent, unsettling horror movie that is well worth a look, and, even if its flawed and contains numerous faults, its far superior to the many hundreds of horror pictures out today.
  • Stinger839
    September 6, 2008
    Stinger839
    I get the message: don't let your girlfriend end up in a plastic surgery clinic, even on accident, because she will totally grow a retractable barbed penis in her armpit and give the whole world the clap, not just you. But btw, she will call to tell you that it was her all along,... read more but only after everyone around you is dying or infected.

    This and "Shivers" are so much thematically the same. "Shivers" is the beginning of that TLC "Waterfalls" video and "Rabid" is the middle part when the guy (in the TLC video) starts looking ill, and "Videodrome" is the final chorus.
  • puffchunk
    June 26, 2008
    puffchunk
    For no explained reason some chick gets a skin graft and grows a tenticle out of her armpit that drinks human blood and infects them with a new strain of rabies. The idea of humans exhibiting rabies like wild animals if fun, and the girl isn't bad looking, but not really worth t... read morehe time to watch.
  • pier007
    November 21, 2007
    pier007
    Cronenberg's gratuitous zombies, sex and violence cocktail doesn't work as good as in his first feature, but still succeeds to crawl your skin. A very entertaining, disgusting and gratifying surprise.
  • MidnightMadwoman
    September 15, 2007
    MidnightMadwoman
    Along the same lines as Shivers, but with much better acting. This works as a pretty scary zombie movie, and the Typhoid Mary angle was really interesting. Chuck Palahniuk's new book reminds me of this.
  • garyX
    December 26, 2006
    garyX
    An early Cronenberg that has bears many of his trademark themes, and has some interesting visual ideas, but little else. It doesn't seem to have any real direction or point, but is an interesting curiosity nonetheless.

View All Rabid Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

Here is an extremely violent, sometimes nauseating, picture about a young woman affected with rabies, running around Montreal infecting others. Full Review

October 19, 2009
Film4

Revolting, yes, but still, an intelligent predecessor to some more moronic efforts in the same genre. Full Review

October 19, 2009
TV Guide's Movie Guide

While Chambers does add some resonance to the film as a sexual icon, her acting ability is decidedly limited. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
February 18, 2008
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

quite good

June 24, 2006
Time Out

None of the other recent apocalypse movies has shown so much political or cinematic sophistication. Full Review

Douglas Pratt
June 10, 2005
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser

Te raw, seductive appeal that Chambers conveys is what really keeps you going from one sequence to the next.

Jeffrey M. Anderson
January 17, 2005
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

David Cronenberg's underrated second film continues to develop his theme of body manipulation. Full Review

Ken Hanke
April 21, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Not Cronenberg at his peak, but neither is it without interest.

Walter Chaw
March 9, 2003
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

A strong indicator of the auteur's obsessions but lacks the sustained energy and invention of most of his other work. Full Review

Rachel Gordon
March 9, 2003
Rachel Gordon, Filmcritic.com

shows the early signs of the talent of someone who has become renowned for creating thought-provoking material Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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