Rating: R
Genre:
Horror
Release Date: 08/26/2003
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 92 Minutes
Flags: Graphic Violence, Questionable for Children, Adult Language
Distributor/Studio: MGM
Canadian director
David Cronenberg followed his graphic vampire variation
Rabid with this multi-layered, speculative
horror film which addresses the way the repressed demons of the psyche can force their way to the surface. Psychologist
Dr. Raglan (
Oliver Reed), director of the controversial Psychoplasmic Institute and author of the book "The Shape of Rage," encourages his patients to outwardly manifest their anger and fear (aided by some experimental drugs), which then takes physical shape as actual sores, cancers, or strange new organs. One of
Raglan's more successful patients (from his point-of-view, anyway) is
Nola Carveth (
Samantha Eggar), who is undergoing therapy following a painful divorce from her husband,
Frank (
Art Hindle). When
Frank discovers evidence that
Nola may have injured their daughter,
Candice (
Cindy Hinds), he begins to suspect
Raglan's techniques but is unprepared for the most horrifying by-product of her rage: a progeny of sexless, dwarflike mutants who are born for the sole purpose of acting out her violent fantasies of revenge. Containing only enough energy to carry out their murderous tasks, the brood is dispatched to kill
Nola's parents, then a woman she believes is having an affair with
Frank. By the time
Frank discovers the origins of the tiny offspring, they have already abducted
Candice and taken her to the institute, where
Frank must confront
Nola in person. Although it contains one of the most visceral and nauseating scenes in movie history (during the film's climax), this nevertheless remains the most subtle of
Cronenberg's early
horror projects, with a strong subtext about the devastating effects of divorce.
~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
;)
