a review of 狂犬病

This one is the last of Cronenberg's early (pre-Scanners) horror films that I hadn't seen, and perhaps not coincidentally it was also my least favorite. While his earlier Shivers felt like a pretty effective metaphor for suburban alienation and changing sexual mores, this one feels like both more of the same, and maybe just a little bit less. The initial catalyst for the plot (experimental reconstructive surgery causes an accident victim to thirst for blood, triggering a zombie outbreak) never quite crystallizes into a symbol for anything in particular, other than just being one ambiguously sexual murderous encounter after another. The addition of the zombie plot on top of the sexy vamp one doesn't really go in any interesting directions, although Cronenberg directs everything with a certain economy and wit. It's not bad, exactly, just a bit too familiar.