NZIFF Autumn Events Review: ‘Antiviral’

This stylish debut from Brandon Cronenberg (son of David) is a satire of today’s celebrity-obsessed culture.

In a near future, people can go to clinic to be injected with their favourite star’s germs. Slick salesmen outline the advantages of a cold sore or the latest flu suffered by clients’ favourite celebrity. One of these salesmen, Syd, has a sideline business replicating the viruses illegally and selling them on the street. He also makes a few bucks selling DNA samples to a local butcher who uses them to make celebrity meat.

The company Syd works for has an exclusive deal with celebrity Hannah Geist who is their most popular choice. But when Syd inadvertently inject himself with an artificially synthesised virus, he needs to find a cure before it kills him. And to do this, he needs to find its source.

Beyond the obvious riff on the perils of obsession with the fame game, one could see this as being a statement about the movie industry and its unsuccessful attempts at slowing the pirating of its products. The viruses sold by the clinics are given coding to keep them safe, yet Syd and others like him find ways to break the codes and grab the viruses for illegal sale. Sound familiar?

Potential sermonising aside, Antiviral’s highly stylised interiors and monochromatic colour pallet make it a very modern vampire movie at heart. Casting Caleb Landry Jones as the blood-taker was a perfect choice since the actor’s pale complexion and dark suits make him a dead ringer for movie vampires past and present.

Definitely not for the squeamish – some of the more graphic scenes of viruses being injected made me cover my eyes. While I didn’t enjoy this film a lot while I was watching it, it stayed with me, and over the week after I saw it, I found more and more to admire in its complex layers. And I can’t say that about many modern films.

Not for everyone, but this is an intelligent, slickly produced film that introduces Cronenberg as a director to watch. One who has learned some lessons from his father.

7.5/10

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http://youtu.be/TpFUPR3C4Gc