Off the bat, I must admit that 'body horror' films are usually not my cup of tea. However, after watching the trailer for Antiviral, I was immediately fascinated and, thankfully, the actual movie almost lived up to my expectations.
Antiviral is a meditation on the ever growing obsession with celebrity and while the world may seem bizarre to view, it already exists on our own. Locks of hair harvested from celebrities routinely end up on eBay; how different is that from paying for diseases? The world Brandon Cronenberg creates in Antiviral is not that far removed from our own and it is that knowledge that makes the whole tale even more horrifying.
Speaking of the world that is created, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. Yes, the contrast of black (or red) on white has been used many times before but it's still stunning to look at. Every shot in the film is wonderfully composed. I'm finding myself at a lack of words to describe the scenery so, to sum up: Antiviral is a gorgeous looking film and I would love to see it again, just to soak up all the visuals.
As for the acting, Caleb Landry Jones does a decent job as the anti-hero Syd March. His control over his voice is astounding; the opening scene he shares with Douglas Smith is particularly creepy, especially when considered in the context of the last scene. Speaking of the last scene, it completely changed my perspective. For the majority of the movie, I was not sure what to believe about Syd: was he just doing his job or was he really a super fan? The very last scene, where it's confirmed that he's definitely the latter, is electrifying. The supporting players all do their jobs admirably; Sarah Gadon is particular is beautiful as Hannah Geist.
However, despite these positive aspects, Antiviral definitely isn't perfect. It suffers in one essential area: the plot. The first hour of the film is wonderful, even if there is a little bit too much techno- babble being thrown around. However, once it becomes clear that the whole plot is really about a business rivalry, things seem to fall flat. There are also a few seemingly unanswered questions at the end (was Syd ever cured?) but I feel like a second viewing of the film might answer these.
Anyways, to conclude: Brandon Cronenberg is David Cronenberg's son. That fact is the elephant in the room, but what does it matter? To me, not at all. The bottom line is that Antiviral is a decent film whose astounding cinematography manages to make up for a few dangling plot threads. It's a good debut and personally, I'm very interested to see what Brandon Cronenberg comes up with next.
Antiviral is a meditation on the ever growing obsession with celebrity and while the world may seem bizarre to view, it already exists on our own. Locks of hair harvested from celebrities routinely end up on eBay; how different is that from paying for diseases? The world Brandon Cronenberg creates in Antiviral is not that far removed from our own and it is that knowledge that makes the whole tale even more horrifying.
Speaking of the world that is created, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. Yes, the contrast of black (or red) on white has been used many times before but it's still stunning to look at. Every shot in the film is wonderfully composed. I'm finding myself at a lack of words to describe the scenery so, to sum up: Antiviral is a gorgeous looking film and I would love to see it again, just to soak up all the visuals.
As for the acting, Caleb Landry Jones does a decent job as the anti-hero Syd March. His control over his voice is astounding; the opening scene he shares with Douglas Smith is particularly creepy, especially when considered in the context of the last scene. Speaking of the last scene, it completely changed my perspective. For the majority of the movie, I was not sure what to believe about Syd: was he just doing his job or was he really a super fan? The very last scene, where it's confirmed that he's definitely the latter, is electrifying. The supporting players all do their jobs admirably; Sarah Gadon is particular is beautiful as Hannah Geist.
However, despite these positive aspects, Antiviral definitely isn't perfect. It suffers in one essential area: the plot. The first hour of the film is wonderful, even if there is a little bit too much techno- babble being thrown around. However, once it becomes clear that the whole plot is really about a business rivalry, things seem to fall flat. There are also a few seemingly unanswered questions at the end (was Syd ever cured?) but I feel like a second viewing of the film might answer these.
Anyways, to conclude: Brandon Cronenberg is David Cronenberg's son. That fact is the elephant in the room, but what does it matter? To me, not at all. The bottom line is that Antiviral is a decent film whose astounding cinematography manages to make up for a few dangling plot threads. It's a good debut and personally, I'm very interested to see what Brandon Cronenberg comes up with next.