One of David Cronenberg’s earlier works, Rabid is a solid zombie-horror movie that certainly has its flaws but regardless was entertaining until the very end and the performance by Marilyn Chambers, an ex-porn star, actually wasn’t half bad for the material.
Rabid
— Collector’s Edition —
(1977)
Genre(s): Horror
Shout Factory | R – 91 min. – $34.93 | November 22, 2016
Date Published: 11/08/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: After undergoing radical emergency surgery, Rose (MARILYN CHAMBERS) develops an insatiable desire for blood. She searches out victims to satisfy her incurable craving, infecting them with an unknown disease, which in turn swiftly drives them insane… and makes them equally bloodthirsty. Follow the lovely but deadly Rose through her terrifying ordeal as victim by victim, the spreading circle of casualties grows… until no one can escape their grisly fate of becoming… Rabid. Quick Hit Review: Rabid is a flawed second outing for David Cronenberg and yet ultimately still a lot of fun with some decent make-up effects and a compelling enough story not to mention some quasi-impressive acting from former porn actress, Marilyn Chambers. There are some lulls that slow the pacing down but ultimately it was a entertaining first viewing for me. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover. The interior cover is reversible revealing the film’s original poster artwork. Some of these were ported over from Arrow Video’s UK release, though missing is the 60-minute documentary… Audio Commentaries
Interviews
From Stereo to Video (26:23; HD) is a video essay by Caelum Vatnsdal, author of ‘They Came from Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema, charting Cronenberg’s career from his experimental beginnings through to Videodrome Also included: Theatrical Trailer (2:09; SD), TV Spot (0:32; SD), Radio Spots (1:38; HD) and a Photo Gallery (5:49; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.25/5 |
| Shout Factory, via their Scream line, unleashes Rabid onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.66 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer culled from a new 2K scan from the original negative. For a movie now 40 years old, this was an impressive looking video where colors are generally bright and the transfer itself was clean, free of major debris, artifacts or aliasing. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The disc includes a basic but effective DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track which provides for crisp and clear dialogue levels throughout and when the horror really picks, the blood-curdling screams comes through that center channel fairly well. It’s not exactly a robust track but for the era it is efficient. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Overall, one of David Cronenberg’s earlier works, Rabid is a solid zombie-horror movie that certainly has its flaws but regardless was entertaining until the very end and the performance by Marilyn Chambers, an ex-porn star, actually wasn’t half bad for the material. This “Collector’s Edition” Blu-ray release by Shout Factory offers some nice features and good video/audio transfers. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.