MPAA Rated – Not Rated
It’s 1:48 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right
| Antiviral Movie Stats & Links |
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| Starring: | Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gagon, Malcolm McDowell |
| MPAA Rated: | Not Rated |
| Released By: | IFC Films |
| Video Release Date: | August 6, 2013 |
| Kiddie Movie: |
It’s a weird, twisted movie with lots of needles, blood, sexiness, and all around creepiness. Put them to bed. |
| Date Movie: | Only if she’s into needles, blood, sexiness, and all around creepiness. |
| Gratuitous Sex: | Ehh. |
| Gratuitous Violence: | Some fighting and stabbing with needles. |
| Action: | Ehh. |
| Laughs: | Nah. |
| Memorable Scene: | The dude sporting the herpes of his favorite celebrity just creeped me out. |
| Memorable Quote: | Nah. |
| Directed By: | Brandon Cronenberg |
| Cool things about the Blu-ray: | The features are pretty standard, but it is a nice look at Brandon Cronenberg, and if you are a film buff the Making of… is pretty decent. |
What a whacked-out movie. The sad part, there are some, obsessed, fans who would probably actually do the things that happen in “Antiviral.”
Let’s get to it.
Let me start by saying this is not a film for everyone. Things that happen in this movie are mostly slow, deliberate, artsy, and sometimes just downright weird. The premise of the story is that as a society obsessed with celebrities, people can’t get enough, even to the point that companies are able to sell viruses a celebrity may have so that the obsessed fan can have the same herpes, the same illness, the same sore, as their favorite celeb. Syd (Caleb Landry Jones) works for one of these companies selling the virus injections to the public, and he has also figured out a way to smuggle a virus out of the company so he can sell it on the black-market. Low and behold he finds himself with the crème de la crème of a virus, a new sickness that hottie Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon) has, he injects it to sell it, and when she dies he finds out everyone wants this virus, and they are now after him. Here’s the problem – if Syd doesn’t find a way to get rid of it, a way to cure it as it would be, he’s going to end up with the same fate as Hannah, if he doesn’t end up that way anyway from those trying to get it from him.
So, if Syd thought he was in some twisted, black-market world before, now he is in a world of black-market, corporate espionage, and just out-right creepiness.
Like I mentioned, I’ll bet if Justin Bieber or some other celebrity had herpes, there would be some fan out there who would be happy to “catch” if from him, even if by an injection to the lips with a needle instead of actually kissing The Bieb, and “Antiviral” takes obsession to that level. The movie is set against a white, sterile-looking backdrop, and the acting is as creepy as you would want, from Syd the employee, to Malcolm McDowell who is trying to get to the bottom of the Hannah virus. They all do their parts well, and as I recommended this movie, if you are looking for some high-action thriller, this isn’t the movie, but if you want some weirdness centered around obsessed celebrity fans, this is a twisted look at those fans, and the world that might be built to appease them, including a butcher shop of “celebrity meat.” It’s 3 1/2 stars out of 5 for “Antiviral,” as long as you know the kind of movie you are in for.
As far as the Blu-ray, it’s got some extras, namely some looking at Brandon Cronenberg (Yes, the son of David Cronenberg, which should give you an idea of where the son gets his ideas from), some “Making of…” stuff that is pretty standard, and the normal “Deleted Scenes” that are better left deleted for the most part.
Enjoy creepiness.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!