Rabid

This article is about the 1977 film. For the record label, see Rabid Records. For other uses, see Rabies.

Rabid is a 1977 horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg. It features Marilyn Chambers in the lead role, supported by Frank Moore, Howard Ryshpan, Joe Silver and Robert A. Silverman.

Development

Cronenberg has stated that he wanted to cast Sissy Spacek in the film lead but the studio vetoed his choice because of her accent. Spacek's film Carrie was released during this film's production and proved to be a massive hit, (and a movie poster for the film appears when the main character walks by a movie theater). The director says that the idea of casting Chambers came from producer Ivan Reitman who had heard that Chambers was looking for a mainstream role. Reitman felt that it would be easier to market the film in different territories if the well-known porn star portrayed the main character. Cronenberg stated that Chambers put in a lot of hard work on the film and that he was impressed with her.

Plot summary

A critically-injured woman, victim of a motorcycle accident, is taken to the plastic surgery clinic of Doctor Dan Keloid, where some of her intact tissue is treated to become "morphogenetically neutral". The tissue is grafted to fire-damaged areas of her body in the hope that it will differentiate and replace the damaged skin and organs.

The woman's body unexpectedly accepts the transplants, developing an orifice under an armpit, within which hides a phallic stinger. She uses it to feed on the blood of other people and afterwards erasing their memories of the incident.

It soon is apparent that her every victim transforms into a rabid zombie whose bite spreads the disease. This eventually causes the city to fall into chaos before the outbreak can be contained.

Translation of "Rabid"

German: Rabid – Der brüllende Tod, French: Rage (film), Japanese: ラビッド, Russian: Бешенство (фильм), Finnish: Verenimijät.