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Antiviral Writer, Director Brandon Cronenberg.
Photo: eOne Films |
Antiviral marks a notable debut for Cronenberg, since the film premiered in the prestigious Un Certain Regard programme at the Cannes Film Festival and it shared the award for Best Canadian First Feature following its North American Premiere at TIFF in 2012. The film also carries a quartet of Canadian Screen Award nominations and a pair of prizes from Sitges—not bad for a debut. Antiviral, though, mostly wins for being an exciting new entry, both from a member of one of Canada’s most notable film families and from a talent who looks to be a worthy filmmaker in his own right. Local audiences can get ready to proclaim ‘Long live the new flesh!’ as Cronenberg’s work shows that the generation of Canadian horror is in good hands.
Synopsis: Syd
March, an employee at the Lucas clinic, sells injections of live viruses
harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. Biological communion – for a
price. He also supplies illegal samples of these viruses to piracy groups,
smuggling them from the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with
the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for
collectors and rabid fans and must now unravel the mystery surrounding her
death before he suffers the same fate.
Review: Brandon
Cronenberg makes a notable directorial debut by keeping the horror sparse and
simple. The director draws good work from his cast, especially Jones (in a
mostly physical performance) and Gadon, in her second Cronenberg film after
this year’s Cosmopolis. Like David Cronenberg, Brandon makes a
crafty play on the divide of body and mind, and he uses some strange, elaborate
effects to unnerve the viewer. (No heads explode in Antiviral, but the last shot of the film is just as gloriously disgusting.)
Unlike some newbies, Cronenberg reigns in the flair and uses the familiarity of
genre to offer a sly take upon our mania for movie stars. By preying upon
viewers’ insecurity with their bodies, he makes an unsettling, skin-crawling
story. The white, aseptic world of Antiviral
exploits the ever-burgeoning phobia of germs and uncleanliness that move
through society little a little contagion. Dirt and sickness are the only
things worse than banality, so Antiviral’s
take on body-horror will have any Purell squirting moviegoer feeling creeped
out. (Read the full review here.)
Antiviral screens with the
Cronenberg and co. at the CFI’s Enlightened Screen series at 7:00pm on
Saturday, June 20 at the River Building Theatre, Carleton University.
(Friendly reminder that there's free parking across the street at Brewer Park!)
Please visit the CFI’s website for more information on
showtimes, tickets, and memberships.
