Rabid (1977) – Episode 107 – Decades of Horror 1970s

"The saliva is very contagious. It dribbles into open wounds and cuts, and causes immediate infection. So don’t let anybody bite you." That sounds like universally good advice! Join your faithful Grue Crew - Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr - as they try to figure out the nature of the body horror David Cronenberg dreamt up in Rabid (1977)!

Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 107 – Rabid (1977)

A young woman develops a taste for human blood after experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into blood-thirsty zombies, leading into a city-wide epidemic.

- IMDb

 

• Writer/Director: David Cronenberg
• Executive producer: Ivan Reitman
• Featured Cast
  • Marilyn Chambers as Rose
  • Frank Moore as Hart Read
  • Joe Silver as Murray Cypher
  • Howard Ryshpan as Dan Keloid
  • Patricia Gage as Roxanne Keloid
  • Susan Roman as Mindy Kent
  • J. Roger Periard as Lloyd Walsh
  • Lynne Deragon as Nurse Louise
  • Terry Schonblum as Judy Glasberg
  • Victor Désy as Claude LaPointe

As the entire Gruesome Nation already knows, the Soska sisters’ version of Rabid is scheduled for release on December 13, 2019. With that in mind, your Decades of Horror 1970s Grue-Crew decided the time was right for them to cover Cronenberg’s original version of Rabid, released in 1977. 

Jeff is completely unaware that he manages to confuse Ivory Soap (99⁴⁴/₁₀₀% pure) with Ivory Snow, “the safest possible soap for diapers and baby clothes” that featured Marilyn Chambers on the box just prior to her career as a pornographic film actress. In his defense, they are both made by Proctor and Gamble and come from the same “Ivory” line of products. Besides that, he loves Cronenberg’s second feature film and finds the “science” behind Rose’s condition fascinating.

The entire Grue-Crew first caught Rabid (1977) on an early-80s video store rental, ... except for Doc. He broke his Rabid cherry with a big-screen viewing, is thrilled with the results, and is impressed by Chambers’ acting in the film. Bill identifies Rabid, the second of Cronenberg’s films, as a sign of obvious growth and of bigger things to come. Chad talks about some of Cronenberg’s later films and the entire Grue-Crew review Ivan Reitman’s body of work as a producer. 

Rabid (1977) receives a unanimous recommendation from the 70s Grue-Crew and each of them is also looking forward to the release of the Soska sisters’ remake! At this writing, Rabid (1977) is available for streaming on Shudder and on Blu ray from Scream Factory. So listen to the podcast, watch Cronenberg’s original, then go see the Soska sisters’ remake. It’ll be fun. You know it will! 

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror 3-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In three weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule will be Dan Curtis’ Trilogy of Terror (1975) starring Karen Black. 

For more on Rabid (1977), check out Paul Cardullo's review in Gruesome Magazine: https://gruesomemagazine.com/2016/11/20/rabid-1977-early-david-cronenberg-shows-hints-body-horrors-come/

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