Brandon Cronenberg has handily demonstrated that he’s one of the most interesting voices in the fascinating world of body horror. He’s more than just a big name, and his second feature filmPossessorgave him the recognition he deserved. His first feature flew a bit under the radar, butAntiviralis a bold statement of intent and a solid body horror film.
It feels a bit too perfect that David Cronenberg’s son would pick up the family business from his father and immediately succeed.David hasn’t even retired, he’s still making interesting entries in the subgenre, but Brandon has developed his eye for a unique story, a bizarre visual flair, and note-perfect tone poetry.
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Antiviralis a sci-fi body horror film that interrogates modern society’s obsession with celebrity and the inherent intimacy of disease. Likea lot of body horror films, it’s not just about blood and gore, it’s about the more esoteric nightmare of being corrupted from within or sharing a body with something that doesn’t belong. The film follows Syd March, an employee at a clinic that offers obsessive fans of celebrity socialites a chance to attain a deeper connection with their idol. They do this by capturing pathogens, bacteria, and viruses from the bodies of the rich and famous, storing them in vials and infecting fans for a high down payment. Fans leap at the chance to have something that was part of a famous person’s body in their own,despite the horrific costs. It’s a straightforward premise that gives way to a nightmarish plot.
Brandon Cronenberg’sAntiviralhas a distinct look. It’s grim, unpleasant, sparse, and entirely ruled by the worst impulses of modern mankind. The TVs show live thermal scans of celebrities with the tawdry tabloid presentation of TMZ. Banal conversations between strangers include anatomical details of famous bodies. One of the central side characters runs a butcher shop that sells meat grown from celebrity cells, giving fans the chance to consume lab-grown facsimiles of their icons' flesh. Beyond the text, the set design is haunting. The clinic’s interior is stark white, but thatunpleasantly cold aesthetic rarelychanges. Shots of Syd’s apartment occasionally resemble an ad for antidepressants. Even the beautiful high society environments that hold the celebrities look haunted and soulless. There’s this reoccurring shot of Syd walking through a hall lined with thousands of flowers like he’s always entering or leaving a funeral.
The world ofAntiviralis sick. Not in the outwardly disgustinggallons of blood kind of way, but in the quiet, detached, miserable hospital interior aesthetic of a long terminal diagnosis. The 108 minutes spent inside it will leave the audience feeling simultaneously nauseated and numb. The atmosphere is only part of the experience, however. The plot follows Syd as he struggles with the mysterious infection that seemingly killed his biggest celebrity client. He suffers from hallucinations as he races against time to cure himself and discover the reason for his condition. There are a thousand ideas that make the skin crawl in the brief moment they’re brought up. Syd is a salesman who enters the world of celebrity obsession for profit, but as he deepens his relationship with the ideas, his interactions with that concept grow stranger. The filmwears its themes on its sleeves, and though it isn’t exactly understated, it is extremely effective.
Viewed holistically,Possessoris a better filmthanAntiviral. It’s more cohesive, the premise is more unique, and despite featuring some of the most staggering displays of violence in cinema history, it’s more subtle. The films have a lot in common. If watched in quick succession, one could believe they were episodes of aBlack Mirror-style anthology series. The aesthetic is very similar, from the stark colors to the unpleasant TV imagery. Like most body horror works, both films focus on themes of identity and ownership over one’s own physical form. The music sounds distinctly similar, despite coming from different composers. In many ways,Antiviralfeels like a stepping stone that brought Cronenberg to the creative place he needed to reach when he madePossessor. Both films play with a fairly straightforward sci-fi concept, butAntiviralis happy to take its audience on a walking tour of its ideas, whilePossessoris a bit more creative.
Antiviralis a fantastic body horror film that demonstrates the basicflesh and bones of the subgenrein vivid detail. Brandon Cronenberg’s filmography thus far has been gripping and powerful, leaving fans thrilled to see where he’ll go next. From its visuals to its social commentary, to its stellar lead performance from Caleb Landry Jones,Antiviralis a must-see for those who can stomach the subgenre’s excesses. Cronenberg’s first film demonstrates an innate understanding of body horror that deals with some deeply unpleasant subject material masterfully, and it deserves more eyes drawn to its bizarre beauty.
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