Monthly Archives: November 2010
The Brood
Written and Directed by David Cronenberg
Cast
Oliver Reed as Dr. Hal Raglan
Samantha Eggar as Nola Carveth
Art Hindle as Frank Carveth
Cindy Hinds as Candice Carveth
Also starring
Nuala Fitzgerald
Susan Hogan
The Brood is a film directed by David Cronenberg that once again exposes the monster within us and not the other way around. Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar) is the estranged wife of Frank Carveth (Art Hindle), and the mother of Candice Carveth (Cindy Hinds). She is a patient of the psychotherapist Dr. Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed) and is undergoing a new form of therapy called ‘psychoplasmics’. The therapy encourages patients to go all the way with their negative emotions and this in turn causes their bodies to react and change as well. One with abandonment issues develops welts all over his chest and back. Another develops a lymphatic cancer because of his own self loathing.
Nola, on the other hand, is Dr, Raglans’ star patient due to the fact that when she becomes angry either consciously or sub-consciously she gives birth (parthenogenetically) to strange mutated children (the titular Brood). These children are the manifestation of her anger and attack the people that her rage is directed towards. Frank notices bruises on Candice’ back and believes that Nola did this to her during a visitation. He tries to have her barred from seeing Candice and this leads to the Brood lashing out at Nola’s parents as well as a teacher at Candice’ school whom Frank befriends. The Brood kidnaps Candice and brings her back to the institute that Nola is housed in. Frank confronts Nola and must make the choice to stop her to keep the creatures from harming their daughter. The film is not too gory but there is one scene in particular that will probably turn a few stomachs.
I found Samantha Eggar to be a good choice for the part of Nola. She is a very beautiful woman and this beauty adds a new dimension to Nola’s angrier moments that I don’t feel would have been achieved otherwise. Oliver Reed has been accused of being a ‘scenery chewer’ but I felt that he was rather subdued here. I don’t know very much about Art Hindle but I feel that he was credible in the role of Frank Carveth. Cindy Hinds was good as Candice Carveth and did not annoy me the way a lot of child actors tend to do. All in all I enjoyed the film and understand that a remake is in the works for 2013.
David Cronenberg has said that he got the idea for the film while going through a rough custody battle and divorce with his wife Margaret Hindson. He said that Nola possesses some of the same characteristics of those of his ex-wife. The film is his third horror film after Shivers and Rabid.
TRIVIA
Related articles
- New Images from David Cronenberg’s COSMOPOLIS Starring Robert Pattinson (collider.com)
- First Look: Robert Pattinson in COSMOPOLIS (geektyrant.com)
- 22 New Images from David Cronenberg’s A DANGEROUS METHOD (collider.com)
- ReFramed No. 21: David Cronenberg’s ‘The Brood’ (1979) (Short Ends and Leader) (popmatters.com)
- Crazy Red-Band Teaser Trailer for David Cronenberg’s COSMOSPOLIS (geektyrant.com)
- David Cronenberg: analyse this (guardian.co.uk)
- Kurt Loder Reviews The Hunter and ATM (reason.com)
- Playlist: First Teaser For David Cronenberg’s ‘Cosmopolis Is Seriously Impressive (thinkingofrob.com)
- Cosmopolis: The Instant Trailer Review (esquire.com)
- ‘Citadel’ Trailer: Fear the Youth Gone Wild (slashfilm.com)
- Cosmopolis Teaser Reviews (thinkingofrob.com)
- Cracked Actor: In Defence Of Oliver Reed (thequietus.com)
- How to Drink the NOLA Way (esquire.com)
Rabid
Written and Directed by David Cronenberg
Cast
Marilyn Chambers as Rose
Frank Moore as Hart Read
Joe Silver as Murray Cypher
Howard Ryshpan as Dr. Dan Keloid
Also starring
Patricia Gage
Roger Periard
Rabid is a film directed by David Cronenberg (The Fly, The Dead Zone). It stars Marilyn Chambers (yes, the late adult film actress) as Rose. Frank Moore plays Hart Read, Roses’ boyfriend. The two of them are traveling on Hart’s motorcycle when they are involved in an accident. Hart suffers a dislocated shoulder. However Roses’ injuries require plastic surgery and she becomes the “guinea pig” of Dr. Dan Keloid. Dr. Keloid performs a new type of plastic surgery on her in which her intact tissue is grafted to the burned areas of her body on the hope that it will differentiate and replace the damaged area. The operation is a success…kind of. Rose heals, but she also develops a need for human blood. She doesn’t bite her victims in the way of the traditional vampire. Under her armpit is a new orifice that hides a phallic-like stinger that she injects into her victims to draw their blood. The ones that survive have no recollection of what happened to them and after a period of about 8 hours they show the symptoms of rabies (rage, foaming at the mouth). They attack others and pretty soon there is an epidemic going on and martial law is declared to keep things from getting too far out of hand. Throughout all this Rose continues to stack up victims of her unnatural thirst and seems to have no idea that she is the Patient Zero who started the epidemic. I’m not going to give away the ending. If you haven’t seen the film check it out and let me know what you think. If you have then let me know how I did summarizing it and point out any mistakes I may have made.
David Cronenberg is a director whose central theme in his films has always been the monster within us, not the monster without. He is known as the Director of Venereal Horror. Rabid is his second feature film and was preceded by Shivers aka They Came from Within.
TRIVIA
½Related articles
- New Images: Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon in David Cronenberg’s ‘Cosmopolis’ (slashfilm.com)
- David Cronenberg’s son tackles celebrity, disease with debut feature (ctv.ca)
- First images from Cosmopolis to be released at Lisbon & Estoril Festival tomorrow (thinkingofrob.com)
- Eveningstar Cinema to Screen “A Dangerous Method” Through March 29, 2012 (thevalleyvoice.org)
- Cosmopolis Teaser Reviews (thinkingofrob.com)
- First Look At David Cronenberg’s ‘Cosmopolis:’ VIDEO (towleroad.com)
- David Cronenberg talks about Robert Pattinson with ‘Interview Magazine’ (thinkingofrob.com)
- ReFramed No. 21: David Cronenberg’s ‘The Brood’ (1979) (Short Ends and Leader) (popmatters.com)
- ‘The Flame Alphabet’ Brings to Mind David Cronenberg’s Early Films (Review) (popmatters.com)
- Read the hilarious audience notes from a 1980s screening of David Cronenberg’s Videodrome [Video] (io9.com)
- Robert Pattinson Teams Up With Cosmopolis’s David Cronenberg For Voice Work (popsugar.com)
- Rabid skunks attack US (go.theregister.com)
- David Cronenberg pulled structure from chaos in A Dangerous Method (arts.nationalpost.com)
- From Marilyn Manson To Axl Rose (dlisted.com)
- Crazy Red-Band Teaser Trailer for David Cronenberg’s COSMOSPOLIS (geektyrant.com)
- ‘Cosmopolis’ Trailer (screenphiles.com)
