Antiviral

This review was originally posted during our Fantastic Fest coverage in September 2012.  With the film's U.S. release upon us, it is getting re-posted.

Brandon Cronenberg - son of David Cronenberg - knocks it out of the park with his feature debut, Antiviral, a poignant, subversive tale that, at times, provokes its viewer and stirs something within them as the film serves as a bitter, sometimes infuriating and intelligent reminder that the state of our celebrity-obsessed culture has grown steadily worse and could get a lot more horrifying.

Antiviral is also a deeply fascinating mystery set in an equally fascinating world created by Cronenberg that is reminiscent of his father’s early, angrier works.  There’s no ignoring this familiarity when, in one scene, leading man Caleb Landry Jones is seen sprouting cables from the flesh of his wrists and a sporting a bleeding filter where his mouth should be.  The nature of the story, itself, carries shades of David's ouevre, still, Brandon makes the film his own...and what a delicious, haunting ride it is.

One of my favorite films of the last year, Antiviral, is making its way to the U.S.  IFC brings the film to New York City/VOD on April 12th followed by a run in Los Angeles on April 19th and we've got a few exclusive photos to share with you after the jump.  Oh, and that's the official U.S. poster you see to the right as well!

Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, the film follows Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones), an employee at The Lucas Clinic, acompany that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to fans who wish to fulfil their obsessive desire for real intimacy with their idols. As well as working for them, Syd also supplements his income by smuggling viruses out of the clinic in his own body in order to sell them on the black market. Constantly ill and losing his edge, Syd becomes careless and infects himself with an unusual virus carried by superstar Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon).

Read my review here.

When April 12th rolls around, you better being seeing Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral.  That's when IFC brings Brandon Cronenberg's film to the U.S.  I love this movie.  And if you're a fan of David Cronenberg (Brandon's pop), then you're likely going to love this, too.

A pretty great trailer touting the film's U.S. debut has arrived and you can check it out inside.

Syd March (Landry Jones) is an employee at The Lucas Clinic – a company that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to fans who wish to fulfil their obsessive desire for real intimacy with their idols. As well as working for them, Syd also supplements his income by smuggling viruses out of the clinic in his own body in order to sell them on the black market. Constantly ill and losing his edge, Syd becomes careless and infects himself with an unusual virus carried by superstar Hannah Geist (Gadon).

There's an interesting Amityville Horror documentary hitting VOD March 15th from IFC and SundanceNow that focuses on one of the Lutz children.  It's called My Amityville Horror, directed by Eric Walter, and it follows Daniel Lutz, obviously all grown up now.

For the first time in 35 years, Daniel Lutz recounts his version of the infamous Amityville haunting that terrified his family in 1975.George and Kathy Lutz’s story went on to inspire a best-selling novel, and the subsequent films continue to thrill and scare audiences today. 

Look for a "best of 2012" list from each of Shock's contributing writers throughout the week!

Optimism has been renewed.  Things might be looking up for horror.  For the last two years or so, I always frowned at the task of creating a year-end “top 10” list.  It got to a point where I felt compelled to par back and draft only a “top five.”  This year, however, I break the norm and present eight films.  I’m happy to say coming up with top five was all too easy and I really didn’t want to leave three titles behind, so here are my “top eight horror films of 2012.”

Over-all, the year was a mixed bag – as each year in the genre tends to be - although I’m always hopeful that we’ll soon have 12 months where the good far outweighs the bad.  Speaking of “bad,” let me take a moment to fire off some of the titles that would have made a “worst of 2012” list had I created a separate article.  You ready?  The Devil Inside (atrocious, not to mention incomplete), House at the End of the Street (inept), The Woman in Black (generic), The Raven (predictable), Silent Hill: Revelation (boring) and Smiley (nonsensical drivel).

This year proved that the big studios still don’t know quite what to do with the genre, so we get clunky fare like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter or Dark Shadows, the aforementioned The Raven or The Apparition.  Three of the films that made my top six this year were studio release; out of that group one was long-delayed and another was made through a smaller company yet given a wide release.  This further reinforces that the studios in the Hollywood system are slightly misguided about the genre and for quality and diversity, horror fans should turn their attention towards the direct-to-DVD or VOD market.

This is rather small, but I liked it and wanted to share.  Although Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral does not have a U.S. release date, we do know that it is opening in the UK February 8th and we've received a look at the poster in anticipation of this release.

Syd March (Landry Jones) is an employee at The Lucas Clinic – a company that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to fans who wish to fulfil their obsessive desire for real intimacy with their idols. As well as working for them, Syd also supplements his income by smuggling viruses out of the clinic in his own body in order to sell them on the black market. Constantly ill and losing his edge, Syd becomes careless and infects himself with an unusual virus carried by superstar Hannah Geist (Gadon).

It's post-Fantastic Fest wrap-up time...  

ShockTillYouDrop.com's Ryan Turek and FEARnet.com's Lawrence Raffel are back from the 8th annual Austin, Texas event and they're here to tell you about the best and worst films.  Listen in as they weigh in on Antiviral, American Mary, Frankenweenie, Berberian Sound Studio, Come Out and Play, The American Scream and more!

Fantastic Fest has announced thee final installment of programming for Fantastic Fest 2012, including the world premiere screening of The Collection, the anticipated sequel to The Collector.  Fantastic Fest will take place September 20-27 in Austin, Texas at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar.

When Elena's (Emma Fitzpatrick) friends take her to a secret party at an undisclosed location, she never imagined she would become the latest victim of The Collector, a psychopathic killer. The Collector kidnaps and transports her to an abandoned hotel he's transformed into his own private maze of torture and death. Upon learning of his daughter's disappearance, Elena's wealthy father (Christopher McDonald) hires a group of mercenaries to retrieve her from the vicious grips of The Collector. These mercenaries coerce Arkin (Josh Stewart), the only man to have escaped the wrath of this heinous monster, to lead them through the gruesome labyrinth. Now, Arkin finds himself fighting for his own life in order to save Elena. "The Collection," directed by Marcus Dunstan and written by Dunstan and Patrick Melton, is a suspense horror film with nonstop thrills at every turn, starring Josh Stewart (The Dark Knight Rises), Emma Fitzpatrick (The Social Network), and Christopher McDonald (Requiem for a Dream).  

LD Entertainment will release The Collection in theaters November 30th.

Head inside for the final wave of films at this year's festival!

Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral is heading to the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10th (with an October 12th release in Canada to follow) and, today, distributor Alliance released a featurette that takes a look at the making of the film.  Furthermore, it spotlights Brandon, who is the son of David Cronenberg.

In the film, Caleb Landry plays Syd March, an employee at the Lucas clinic, who 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.

IFC picked up the film for a U.S. distribution, stay tuned for release date news.

Brandon Cronenberg's Antiviral has found a home shortly after debuting at Cannes.  The film has been acquired by IFC Films.

After becoming infected with the virus that killed superstar Hannah Geist, Syd March (Caleb Landry) must unravel the mystery surrounding her death to save his own life.

Sarah Gadon co-stars with Malcolm McDowell.  IFC is aiming to release the film later this year.

Brandon Cronenberg - son of David Cronenberg (Videodrome) - recently premiered his feature film Antiviral at the Cannes Film Festival and we've got a lil' sneak peek to share.

Response to the film has been mixed, but we're interested to see what Brandon has up his sleeve, nonetheless.  Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell and Douglas Smith star.

The story concerns a world in which viruses from sick celebrities are sold to fans. One man becomes injected with a virus and races against the clock to find a cure.  Now, the question is, what is Jones' character staring at?  What bizarre specimens do those jars hold?

In an interview with Karim Hussain today - to discuss his contributions to The Theatre Bizarre (including the directorial effort "Vision Stains") - we had to ask about his recent experience working with director Brandon Cronenberg (son of David) on the upcoming film Antiviral, which recently wrapped shooting in Toronto.  

Hussain served as the director of photography on the thriller and used an exciting comparison to describe the film's leading man, Caleb Landry Jones.

The very first image from Brandon Cronenberg's upcoming thriller, Antiviral, premiered today, offering a glimpse at star Caleb Landry Jones of X-Men: First Class and The Last Exorcism.

Brandon is the son of David Cronenberg and Antiviral marks the former's feature debut.  You'll find the full image inside.

Malcolm McDowell and Sarah Gadon also star in the film, currently shooting in Canada.