'Rabid' (1977)

Yep, I know I watched the remake of 'Rabid', the other day, also yep, I was kind of half ok with it but half disappointed at the same time. It got me thinking though and made me wonder if the original was any better... or not. Luckily for me, it was free to watch on Prime (given how I felt about the remake, I probably wouldn't have paid to watch it) so last night, when I really should have been getting some work done, I settled down, with a couple of bits of marmite on toast, and gave 'Rabid' another go, if you know what I mean...

And you know what? I'm really glad I did. The remake wasn't all bad but the original was ten times better, at least.

The best thing about posting about a movie the day after you watched the remake, is that I don't really need to worry too much about the blurb this time round. There are a few differences (Rose isn't working in fashion for a start) but the main thrust of the plot is pretty much the same. Rose is in a horrible accident and an experimental skin graft has her on the lookout for blood. This leads to the outbreak of a rabies type illness in the city and the army is called in while Rose's boyfriend frantically tries to track her down. So far, no really big differences at all, right? Well, the big difference is that this film is a lot more watchable and just better in general and that was just what I was after.

The big thing that I really appreciated about this film is that it's not trying to be all things to all people. It's part thriller (trying to get to the bottom of the infection) and part icky body horror (with the strange armpit creature sharing screen time with the rabid 'infected'. That's all it is and the film feels like it really benefits from having more time to focus on this. You don't even really find out why Rose was infected (although we may do and I just missed it, I don't know) and I think that's a brilliant approach. We don't really need to know the why, just that it's happening and sticking around will let us know who makes it to the end. Not many people do and that's another great reason to keep watching. There is a lot of gore happening here, mostly punctuated by a jump scare or two, and no-one is safe, not even Santa Claus (I loved the bit, the security guard's reaction made me laugh out loud).

In this case, the original 'Rabid' has a much better plot and an approach to it that had me hooked. You can't really ask for a lot more than that.

Marilyn Chambers brings a lot more to Rose's character with a clear sense of conflict between what she has become and what he still believes that she is. It's particularly interesting to see Rose start to justify her feeding by choosing bad guys. It lends a more thoughtful air to the proceedings and begs the question of whether Rose was part vigilante. I think there's an argument to be had for it. Frank Moore's 'Hart Read' was about as dull as you'd expect but it's not like the film is about him so it's not a huge loss.

Basically, if you're faced with a choice between the two 'Rabids', do yourself a huge favour and watch the original over the remake. The original is basically everything that the remake wanted to be but didn't quite manage. It's ok, it's my pleasure ;o)