Basicly a re-run of Shivers on a larger scale,(This time half of Montreal is infected)but much slicker and professional.Featuring another weird disease created by Cronenberg,this time the unfortunate Rose (Marilyn Chambers) is the carrier of a strange vampiric appendage that emerges from her armpit to drink blood and infect the poor victim.The cause of Rose's affliction is unclear,only that her experimental skin grafts performed by a private clinic,is the culprit.Not quite as gory as Shivers but close,the first victims wounds after an attack by rose are wincingly realistic,and theres a nasty scene where an infected surgeon cuts off a nurses fingers with a pair of scissors.Cronenberg creates a city in a mass panic very well,most noticeable when a store Santa is gunned down in a military crossfire!Chambers gives a sympathetic performance as Rose,as she tries to comprehend what has happened to her.Rabid reinforced the view that Cronenberg was a name to watch in s.f/horror cinema.If you haven't seen it then do so,this is classic Cronenberg.
Review of Rabid
