The quiet Rose works in women's fashion clothing, hoping to be a designer. A traffic accident damages her face. She gets experimental stem cell treatment, leaving her stronger and prettier than eve...
Rabid emulates the frantic symptoms of rabies with inconsequential commentary. Another year, another classic horror remake. Cronenberg’s ‘77 body horror cult favourite of the same name, although admittedly not seen as of yet, emitted an abundance of eerie aesthetics as an infectious disease spreads across the rural countryside of Quebec. The Soska Sisters’ re-imagining, whilst maintaining a consistency by filming in Canada and re-utilising existing character names, extends the spread of infection through a refreshing female perspective.
Vegetarian wannabe fashion designer Rose, portrayed to be grossly introverted, suffers facial disfigurement after a motor accident. Believing herself to be a “monster”, she decides to undergo an experimental stem-cell treatment that consequently changes her body to eternally thirst for blood. And of course a plethora of other new abilities including summoning a poisonous stinger from an armpit and grotesquely morphing the jaw in the shape of pincers. Bonuses to any surgery, right?
The Soska’s rightfully showcase an array of prosthetic effects and protruding limbs in homage to Cronenberg’s original, assigning these to the feature’s forefront. The spilling of blood, clawing of skin and biting of tracheas is where the film truly excels, exploiting its bloodthirsty nature. Identifiably, narrative alterations were made to the story to differentiate the remake from the original, this time having Rose work in the fashion industry. An industry where looks and aesthetic appeals are everything. Rabid offers some commentary on this, by presenting the ruthlessness of its stylistic necessities. Unfortunately though, this superficial insight is where the film falters massively.
Rose pre-accident was a female character you could relate to. The type of woman who hates socialising and clubbing and would rather focus on work, keeping herself to herself. Rose post-accident, after she is magically transformed into a seemingly “better looking” woman after the experimental skin transplant, suffers a massive personality change. Suddenly she’s teeming with raging confidence, forcing men to turn their heads in wonderment. Essentially inserting a grotesque vapidity within the story. It doesn’t work. Rose and the supporting characters were all unlikeable, therefore making each gruesome action incredibly vacuous. She comments on how “clothes act as armour, allowing people to be whatever they want to be”, yet the Soska’s never really illustrated that powerful statement. Rose commits to a full personality change, for the worst. Neither did they decide on a thematic presence. Zombie apocalypse or cannibalistic fashion? ‘28 Days Later’ or ‘The Neon Demon’? Frustrating really, considering Vandervoort’s sensational performance whom truly embraced the practical makeup.
The conclusion leaves a little to be desired, but in the end Rabid couldn’t fully emphasise the female perspective that the Soska’s were aiming for. Blood, guts and teeth growing in gums are all well and dandy, but when a fashion apprentice haphazardly shreds a dress with scissors and her bare hands, only for the lead designer to applaud and mutter “couture!”, it truly shows how forgettably one-dimensional the concept really is.
