Really Awful Movies: Ep 308 – Antiviral

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This week on the podcast, Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral.

Unlike most virus / outbreak / contagion films, where there’s a security breach at a lab and the virus gets loose, turning the populace into rampaging drooling creatures, the horror in Antiviral comes from a rogue employee who is smuggling out pathogens to sell on the black market.

And the viruses in question are ones derived from celebrities, so that people can experience “biological communion” with them.

As you might gather from the surname and subject matter, this one is an icky body horror effort, directed by David Cronenberg’s son, Brandon.

It’s quiet, discomfiting, and claustrophobic with an austere bichromatic colour palette.

The performances, especially by the very gaunt and captivating Caleb Landry Jones, are top-drawer.

On this episode of the podcast, putting both Cronenberg’s work in context, and exploring interior/body horror in Crash, The Brood, Shivers, and Dead Ringers.

Really Awful Movies: Ep 307 – Containment

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On this week’s episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, the underrated, quiet contagion/outbreak film, Containment.

Though lost in what was a banner year for horror (The Witch, Bone Tomahawk, Tag, We Are Still Here) there’s enough to commend Containment to give it a watch five years later.

The film is set in a dismal, concrete high rise housing complex in the Southern UK city of Southampton. Mark, wakes up to find he has been trapped in his apartment, and cannot get out. There is no electricity or water, and piped in through the intercom, a voice from the authorities to “please remain calm, the situation is under control,” this as figures in Hazmat suits roam around the grounds.

And they have set up those MASH-type tents to deal with victims of an mysterious outbreak. Soon, the complex residents have to bandy together in order to survive, and find that kidnapping a member of the government forces doesn’t lead to the desired effect of finding out what the hell is going on.

Director Neil Mcenery-West keeps everything…well…contained, and Containment is largely dialogue and character-driven, and he makes use of the setting quite well.

How does it compare with others of its ilk? It’s hard to say, as the likes of Contagion and George A. Romero’s The Crazies are bigger, more sprawling products, while Mcenery-West keeps things focused on the small moments. In that respect, Containment is closer to the likes of Pontypool than Outbreak.

As we emerge from the pandemic, pathogen movies seem to be all the rage on Amazon Prime (hell, The Rage itself is a fun virus movie too).

Tune into the Really Awful Movies Podcast, with new episodes uploaded every Friday. And be sure to support the show by picking up a copy of our acclaimed book (foreword, Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman), Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons.

Really Awful Movies: Ep 306 – The Killing of a Sacred Deer

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On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, The Killing of a Sacred Deer. As you may gather, from the poster/marketing creative, this one is an ART FILM. So, caveat emptor…depending on your affinity for such things, in the horror realm, you’ll either dive right in or head for the hills for much more straightforward offerings (The Hills Have Eyes, perhaps?)

Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman star as married doctors in a loveless marriage in a spacious house that could be a cover feature in Architectural Digest. They have an odd stilted relationship (or that could be the performances) with one another, as well as with their kids.

The Farrell character, Dr. Murphy, begins to engage in furtive meetings with a young boy, Martin. What’s Martin up to, what are his motivations, what’s his deal? Well, The Killing of a Sacred Deer spends a lot of time letting the viewer consider all the options (too much, according to some).

Soon, we find out that Martin’s dad was a victim of medical malpractice, the result of Dr. Murphy knocking back a few too many whiskeys before his surgery. Martin wants answers, and he wants them now.

The rest of the film explains the hows and the whats of what take place, frequently off-putting, unsettling, silly, and illogical, yet impossible to casually dismiss outright. Sort of like the hosts of the podcast….sorta.

Tune into the Really Awful Movies Podcast, and listen to new episodes of the show every Friday!