Amazon.co.uk Review
"If this picture doesn't make you scream and squirm, you should see a psychiatrist--quick!" shouts the film's trailer. This time the hyperbole is right. Shivers, David Croneberg's debut feature and Canada's first domestic horror film, is an ingeniously engineered modern horror that, like George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), charts a social breakdown by tearing through our most intrinsic taboos. A genetically engineered designer parasite--part-aphrodisiac, part-venereal disease--created by a modern day mad scientist escapes into a colourless, self-contained apartment complex and goes searching for hosts. This monstrous parasite multiplies and invades the alienated occupants, turning them into a pack of Id-driven sex maniacs. Cronenberg's suffocating vision of modern life turns his budgetary limitations--dreary, bland sets, flat lighting and numb performances--into a severe portrait of society out of touch with its physical and emotional existence. Cronenberg pushed the boundaries of gore in 1974, but more insidious is the way he pushes the boundaries of behaviour: under the influence of this insidious, invasive disease families turn to incest and murder, strangers sexually assault the helpless and finally they band together as a pack of bloodthirsty, libido-driven animals. That taboo-breaking display still has the power to get under your skin. The film has also been released under the titles The Parasite Murders and They Came From Within. Cult horror icon Barbara Steele co-stars. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews:
Have you met my daughter Erica?.......2005-03-04
I first saw this when a teenager - and I was still disturbed by it when I saw it again recently, now in my 30's. The casting is brilliant: all the people look slightly strange, slightly off kilter. The sequence at the end in the swimming pool, in slow motion, still sends shivers (really no pun intended - can't think how to put it better)down my spine. Along with 'Rabid' (also an 'infected' film), this is my favourite Cronenberg.
Stomach churning terror........2001-12-18
This excellent film leads from a shocking start on a rapid downward spiral of fear and tension.
The eponymous creatures spread and with them the film, set in a tower block becomes one of the most terrifying experiences i have ever witnessed. the closed spaces and excellent direction make this a frighteningly real and intense experience.
The zombilike infected haunt the building and your imagination for hours. The plot and the direction of the film make it one of the seminal horrer films for this type of close up and suspenseful terror. This film left me breathless and truly scared in places and finished on a chilling note. A refreshing and ddifferent take on a much trodden path that is a must have for any horrer fan.
Fearsly frightening and compelling viewing.
Amazon.co.uk Review
"If this picture doesn't make you scream and squirm, you should see a psychiatrist--quick!" shouts the film's trailer. This time the hyperbole is right. Shivers, David Croneberg's debut feature and Canada's first domestic horror film, is an ingeniously engineered modern horror that, like George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), charts a social breakdown by tearing through our most intrinsic taboos. A genetically engineered designer parasite--part-aphrodisiac, part-venereal disease--created by a modern day mad scientist escapes into a colourless, self-contained apartment complex and goes searching for hosts. This monstrous parasite multiplies and invades the alienated occupants, turning them into a pack of Id-driven sex maniacs. Cronenberg's suffocating vision of modern life turns his budgetary limitations--dreary, bland sets, flat lighting and numb performances--into a severe portrait of society out of touch with its physical and emotional existence. Cronenberg pushed the boundaries of gore in 1974, but more insidious is the way he pushes the boundaries of behaviour: under the influence of this insidious, invasive disease families turn to incest and murder, strangers sexually assault the helpless and finally they band together as a pack of bloodthirsty, libido-driven animals. That taboo-breaking display still has the power to get under your skin. The film has also been released under the titles The Parasite Murders and They Came From Within. Cult horror icon Barbara Steele co-stars. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews:
Have you met my daughter Erica?.......2005-03-04
I first saw this when a teenager - and I was still disturbed by it when I saw it again recently, now in my 30's. The casting is brilliant: all the people look slightly strange, slightly off kilter. The sequence at the end in the swimming pool, in slow motion, still sends shivers (really no pun intended - can't think how to put it better)down my spine. Along with 'Rabid' (also an 'infected' film), this is my favourite Cronenberg.
Stomach churning terror........2001-12-18
This excellent film leads from a shocking start on a rapid downward spiral of fear and tension.
The eponymous creatures spread and with them the film, set in a tower block becomes one of the most terrifying experiences i have ever witnessed. the closed spaces and excellent direction make this a frighteningly real and intense experience.
The zombilike infected haunt the building and your imagination for hours. The plot and the direction of the film make it one of the seminal horrer films for this type of close up and suspenseful terror. This film left me breathless and truly scared in places and finished on a chilling note. A refreshing and ddifferent take on a much trodden path that is a must have for any horrer fan.
Fearsly frightening and compelling viewing.
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
Customer Reviews:
WELL WORTH A WATCH.......2008-01-18
When Rose (Marylin Chambers) and her boyfriend Hart (Frank Moore) got into an motorcycle accident. Hart is fine but Rose got stuck on the motorcycle and it exploded on her. But the medical center is actually close to the accident, where they perform experimental plastic surgery. They were able to save her but they perform some skin and blood replacement on her. Then an month later, once she finally wakes up from her coma. She finds herself getting a thrust for blood, while she gets other people infected from her previous encounters with people. These infected people are turning wild rampaging blood-thirsty zombie-like creatures in the city of Montreal.
Written and Directed by David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises, The Fly, Videodrome) made an interesting horror film that certainly has some of Cronenberg's trademarks and themes on his future films about the flesh and human nature goes wrong. Porn-Star:Chambers does an good job in the lead as the Femme Fatale vampire-lead character in the movie. This movie has a theme about Vampirism, which closer to a Vampire movie that Cronenberg will get to directed. Cronenberg works well with the low-budget production of the movie and he gets good production values out of it. There's some fairly good shocking scenes here and seeing Montreal under siege is certainly fascinating. Especially those, who knows the city well. Film Director:Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters 1 and 2, Kindergarten Cop, My Super Ex-Girlfriend) is one of the executive producers of the movie and also the music supervisor of the picture. Die-Hard fans of Cronenberg's work will find plenty to enjoy here (Especially those who enjoy his horror work) and those will loves Horror Movies of the 1970's. (*** ½/*****).
Shivers, again.......2006-01-11
"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. In doing so she infects her victims with a rabies-like alien virus which turns them into rabid creatures who then go on to attack and bite others, thus spreading the infection.
I've seen this film before, and it's Cronenberg's 1975 film "Shivers". Where "Shivers" was set in a swanky hotel-like housing development, "Rabid" is set in a hospital, but basically it follows a very similar storyboard, that of the parasite/virus realeased in a contained environment which eventually drives everyone into a state of zombie-like mania.
(One anecdotal observation: in the opening scene where the girl is rushed in to the emergency room, a member of the public goes to the desk and asks "What was all that about?" to which the E.R. administrator replies "Somebody said something about an accident." - Probably the stupidest conversation that could occur in an Emergency Room).
The acting varies from the completely lame (e.g. the girl's baby-faced boyfriend) to the better (the innocently seductive vampire herself).
It's probably quite an engaging sci-fi/vampire horror and if I'd never seen "Shivers", I'd probably have enjoyed it much more. As it's repetitious it didn't really do it for me.
Excellent box set.......2004-01-31
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.
He was 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.
Bravo Bravo!!!.......2003-09-20
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 the most out of all his films
the surreal back drops and dismal camera work are chilling
just buy themselfs and the lack of emotion in these are just
as errie.
Now on to rabid this couple gets into a wreck luckly
for them theres a plastic surgery clinic near by the lame
boyfriend seems unhurt but his girl Chambers is in bad
condition well anyway the surgen there uses exparmental
surgery to save her looks but not now how much more she would
get out of this anyway she starts awaking the night after
when the good doctor comes to see her he is attacked anyway
fast forward theres a bunch of murders and the movie ends with
a whole city infected If you liked The Crazies are 28 days later
you will love this little gem
Bravo Bravo!!!!.......2003-09-19
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. Anyways Rabid in my opion
is David's best movie yes its low buget and yes its lead
actress was a porn star But thats the beauty of it wasnt
a fx driven picture it was driven by Davids talent the dismal landscapes and far away characters are what make this movie chilling and the no emotion envermint gives you nothing but
dispare as for the ending yes chambers does kill herself
because she finnaly figured out what she was doing to people
but oops to late there are thousands of victims in the end
and it leaves the viewer with the end of the world type feeling
thats what David can do best make a movie with no emotion and still make it watchable and enjoyable
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