Let's Talk About Rabid

Let’s talk about Rabid.

Before we get into the David Cronenberg horror movie from 1977, I’ve been listening to a fun podcast of late called Little Bracket of Horrors ( https://www.buzzsprout.com/1903709 ). (For full disclosure, my niece is one of the hosts.) The hosts (Matt, Shelly, and Derek) sound like they are having a ton of fun talking, critiquing and analyzing different horror movies. To keep things random, they have a “Wheel of Death” that decides at random what they watch and discuss each episode. If you haven’t listened to them, please do. I think you’ll enjoy it!

I have found this to be an engaging idea and I think it will be fun to piggyback on their “Wheel of Death” and write my own critique of the movies that come up on their podcast. The latest role of the wheel gave them Rabid.

Rabid tells the story of a woman, Rose, who is involved in a motorcycle accident and requires

emergency skin grafts. As a result, she is infected by some virus or creature that wants to spread itself everywhere, resulting in mass hysteria and destruction.

If you feel that isn’t much of plot, well, it isn’t. Who needs a plot when you can have a series of images instead? The whole film feels like a bad student film where scenes were filmed with no script or understanding of what the story is.

It gives me great concern when the origin of whatever this thing is that is affecting Rose is never shown. It’s insinuated to have something to do with the skin grafts she had after the accident but never clearly indicated how that resulted in this “thing” in her armpit.

And about this “thing.” Is it some sort of parasite that has latched onto her? Is it some defensive mechanism her body has created. Is it an alien who has invaded her body? We aren’t told. Which really adds to the confusion of the story. We don’t have a clear understanding of her motivations. At times she seems like the alien from Species, totally geared toward sex and spreading the virus. Other times she’s like a vampire, only wanting to consume blood for sustenance. At times she doesn’t show any remorse for what she’s done and at other times she’s deeply affected by things she’s done. She’s confusedly written. This movie is certainly not up to the standards Cronenberg made for himself in later movies.