Picking up where his taboo-busting SHIVERS left off, RABID is the next-level iteration of David Cronenberg’s obsession with sexual body horror as a late-nite creature feature.
Former adult film star Marilyn Chambers plays a woman who, after a motorcycle accident, wakes up in a hospital with new skin and a new appetite. As the city of Montréal transforms into an incubator for gunk-spewing vampires, the ghostly Chambers finds herself at war with her body and the world.
RABID is young Cronenberg firing on all cylinders. Featuring a focused and intense performance from Chambers, clever statements on vanity / greed and a grotesque lil’ beastie that looks like a penis with teeth, RABID is a high-water mark in lysergic horror. This includes the show-stopping scene involving a machine gun and Santa Claus!