- Actors: Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver, Howard Ryshpan, Patricia Gage
- Directors: David Cronenberg
- Writers: David Cronenberg
- Producers: André Link, Danny Goldberg, Don Carmody, Ivan Reitman, John Dunning
- Format: PAL
- Language English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.77:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 18
- Studio: Prism
- DVD Release Date: 6 Jan 2003
- Run Time: 91 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005Y40V
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 16,547 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
One of David Cronenberg's most successful early films, Rabid features porn star Marilyn Chambers as a woman who becomes infected with a virus after an operation. As result she grows a kind of phallus with which she penetrates her victims as she sucks their blood and thus the disease spreads rapidly. The film displays all Cronenberg's usual horrified fascination with the human body and its sexual function. Looking back, it can be read as a kind of parable about AIDS, but it works perfectly well as an effective low-budget shocker.
On the DVD: the widescreen image on the DVD is acceptable quality, as is the sound. The fairly routine extras consist of excerpts from a TV interview with Cronenberg, lasting about 10 minutes; a collection of stills from the film; some written notes by horror expert Kim Newman that give useful background, though in part reproduce what is said in the interview; full filmographies for Cronenberg and the three principal performers, including a long list of Chambers' porn credits. --Ed Buscombe
Special Features
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital English
Dolby Digital
Video Introduction By David Cronenberg
Production Notes By Kim Newman
Image Gallery
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital English
Dolby Digital
Video Introduction By David Cronenberg
Production Notes By Kim Newman
Image Gallery
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Cronenberg's early work has not been served well on DVD. Although in widescreen and featuring an interview and introduction, the picture quality of Rabid is on the grainy side. The film itself is great.
Rabid is a sort science fiction/horror reworking of the psychosexual themes associated with vampirism crossed with the story of Typhoid Mary. After a motorcycle accident a young woman (Marilyn Chambers) is given a skin graft which leaves her with a retractable organ in her armpit and an insatiable desire to infect others. It's very Cronenberg and very effective. Whilst not as icky as Shivers, Rabid is very bleak.
Adult movie star, Chambers gives a surprisingly effective and vulnerable performance as the confused and desperate girl. The ending is sad and oddly poignant.
Rabid is one of my favourite Cronenberg movies, along with The Brood, Scanners and The Dead Zone.
Rabid is a sort science fiction/horror reworking of the psychosexual themes associated with vampirism crossed with the story of Typhoid Mary. After a motorcycle accident a young woman (Marilyn Chambers) is given a skin graft which leaves her with a retractable organ in her armpit and an insatiable desire to infect others. It's very Cronenberg and very effective. Whilst not as icky as Shivers, Rabid is very bleak.
Adult movie star, Chambers gives a surprisingly effective and vulnerable performance as the confused and desperate girl. The ending is sad and oddly poignant.
Rabid is one of my favourite Cronenberg movies, along with The Brood, Scanners and The Dead Zone.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
shivers:
On a remote island near Montreal there is a large apartment block made for modern living, completely self sufficient with its own dentists and doctor's.
One of these doctors seems to go a bit mad, attacking a patient with a scalpel which he then turns on himself. He was actually trying to destroy a leech-like parasite he had created that turns people into sex-crazed lunatics. Similar to Romero's crazies, together with the pessimistic ending, this is Cronenberg's first feature film.
It's evidently low budget, the same scene can go from dim to well lit and the sound is sometimes bad but it all adds to rather than diminishes the film's overall effect. Some excellent gore effects and genuinely stomach churning scenes that make you wanna puke (like a parasite jumping out of one man's stomach and down another man's throat). This is a very dark film, not just in look but in tone, and as with many Cronenberg movies, there's no salvation at the end. A great downbeat film then! Inspired by Cronenberg's love for the New York underground film movement of the 60's, Cronenberg even refused to have this film funded by Hollywood after Roger Corman became interested in the script. What a guy, fight the power!
If you like dark, low buget, gory horror where the good guys don't always win, you'll love this.
'Rabid' is another dark, low budget shocker. A couple are involved in a motorbike accident, the woman is taken to a near-by plastic surgery hospital and given skin grafts. She becomes infected with some sort of virus which causes her to need blood. She attacks people, using a phallic-like object that is under her arm, to suck their blood (the fx here are stomach churning!). they in turn become infected by some sort of rabies virus and attack anyone and everyone. Another downbeat film with a downbeat ending from Cronenberg, isn't this guy great?!
If you like these, check out his masterpiece 'Videodrome', as well as 'Scanners' and 'Naked Lunch'
Both films have an introduction by Cronenberg, production notes and stills galleries. Well worth the money.
On a remote island near Montreal there is a large apartment block made for modern living, completely self sufficient with its own dentists and doctor's.
One of these doctors seems to go a bit mad, attacking a patient with a scalpel which he then turns on himself. He was actually trying to destroy a leech-like parasite he had created that turns people into sex-crazed lunatics. Similar to Romero's crazies, together with the pessimistic ending, this is Cronenberg's first feature film.
It's evidently low budget, the same scene can go from dim to well lit and the sound is sometimes bad but it all adds to rather than diminishes the film's overall effect. Some excellent gore effects and genuinely stomach churning scenes that make you wanna puke (like a parasite jumping out of one man's stomach and down another man's throat). This is a very dark film, not just in look but in tone, and as with many Cronenberg movies, there's no salvation at the end. A great downbeat film then! Inspired by Cronenberg's love for the New York underground film movement of the 60's, Cronenberg even refused to have this film funded by Hollywood after Roger Corman became interested in the script. What a guy, fight the power!
If you like dark, low buget, gory horror where the good guys don't always win, you'll love this.
'Rabid' is another dark, low budget shocker. A couple are involved in a motorbike accident, the woman is taken to a near-by plastic surgery hospital and given skin grafts. She becomes infected with some sort of virus which causes her to need blood. She attacks people, using a phallic-like object that is under her arm, to suck their blood (the fx here are stomach churning!). they in turn become infected by some sort of rabies virus and attack anyone and everyone. Another downbeat film with a downbeat ending from Cronenberg, isn't this guy great?!
If you like these, check out his masterpiece 'Videodrome', as well as 'Scanners' and 'Naked Lunch'
Both films have an introduction by Cronenberg, production notes and stills galleries. Well worth the money.
Format:DVD
Firstly the Dvd picture quality isn,t the best, but it's o.k. for an old 70's low budget horror. The film is at least in widescreen and there are some extras.
This is an influential early Cronenberg film. You can see its influence in Zombie films and more specifically the first Species film. A sexy woman out in society luring men to their doom.
I can highly reccommend the movie especially for people who enjoy films like the original Dawn of the Dead and American WerewolfIn London, but just be warned this film is a bit more sick than those. Like Shivers, Rabid has some nasty moments and can be disturbing but it's also gripping and humourous in places. In one scene in Rabid even Santa Claus gets it.
I wouldn't be surprised to see this film remade.
This is an influential early Cronenberg film. You can see its influence in Zombie films and more specifically the first Species film. A sexy woman out in society luring men to their doom.
I can highly reccommend the movie especially for people who enjoy films like the original Dawn of the Dead and American WerewolfIn London, but just be warned this film is a bit more sick than those. Like Shivers, Rabid has some nasty moments and can be disturbing but it's also gripping and humourous in places. In one scene in Rabid even Santa Claus gets it.
I wouldn't be surprised to see this film remade.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interesting film, horrible DVD
Even after more than 30 years, rabid works as an effective horror film, and it clearly shows Cronenberg's talent for horror without horror cliches. Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2008 by Martin Genschow
Early Cronenberg - cheap but effective
This is Cronenberg's 2nd proper movie. Baring that in mind, together with the limitations of the budget for a film of this nature made in Canada in the 1970's its actually a lot... Read more
Published on 22 April 2008 by S J Buck
Shivers, again
"Rabid" is the story of a woman who, inhabited by an alien entity, feeds vampire-like from her victims using a proboscis located under her armpit. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2006 by Green Man Music
Bravo Bravo!!!
My hats off to who ever had the guts to keep
this film in print.Let me first say as this and
shivers are my fav works from david they both show
his work and talent... Read more
this film in print.Let me first say as this and
shivers are my fav works from david they both show
his work and talent... Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2003 by "highwaymen13"
Bravo Bravo!!!!
Thank god for region 2!!! They had it here in the states
for oh two weeks and since it didnt sell a milion copys
they threw it out of print. Read more
for oh two weeks and since it didnt sell a milion copys
they threw it out of print. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2003 by "highwaymen13"
Fun in the 70s with rabies
Rabies, armpit vampires, marilyn chambers, what more can you want in a 70s horror movie from Canada. Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2002 by Doug White
cronenberg at his weirdest
i have seen most of cronenberg's films but this one rates as his weirdest. marilyn chambers plays a woman who after a skin graft develops a blood sucking tentacle in her armpit(i... Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2002
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