On this edition of Direct to DVD Dissection, Cronenberg! This is the first feature film by Brandon Cronenberg, the son of famed filmed director David Cronenberg. And the Dissection has to review it. And it is about celebrity culture and viruses. Yep. It’s that kind of movie.
The Story
After becoming infected with the virus that killed superstar Hannah Geist, Syd March must unravel the mystery surrounding her death to save his own life.
The Cast
Caleb Landry Jones as Syd March. Among his more notable roles are Jimmy Adler from the TV series FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, Banshee from the film X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, and Andy from the film CONTRABAND
Sarah Gadon as Hannah Geist. Aside from this, she also work with the dictor’s father on his film COSMOPOLIS, as well as providing the voices of Beth & Izzy on the TOTAL DRAMA animated series.
Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Abendroth. Worked on numerous films over a 40 year career, who appeared with films like A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE ARTIST, the HALLOWEEN remakes, CALIGULA, and STAR TREK GENERATIONS, as well as TV shows like FRANKEN & BASH & ENTOURAGE, and doing voice work for projects like SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, METALOCALYPSE, and PHINEAS AND FERB.
The Dissection
Syd (Caleb Landry Jones) getting a deposit from Hannah (Sarah Gadon)
On the one hand, this film tells an interesting take on the idea of celebrity worship and the extremes people can go to get closer to that feeling. It shows the idea of this cult of personality and wonders how far it can go when left unchecked. On the other hand, it’s a convoluted mess that shoves too many things out there and yet never breaks from a singular train of logic it has built for itself.
ANTIVIRAL is a movie that will make you interested in the premise, but hate having to actually watch it.
First off, the movie takes some adapting to it’s logistics. The concept of the movie does take getting used to, and not helped that the movie doesn’t like to tell you anything, relying more on visuals. That would be fine, but because of how the movie is both shot and cut, the narrative gets interrupted and has you playing catch up with it on more than a few occasions. Speaking of the cuts, the scene transitions end up causing big headaches. Scenes seem to cut out a minute or two before they’re suppose to, and others have cuts to black for long periods of time before going to another scene. And to cap it off, some issues with the music levels not being consistent at times.
Strangely, the acting in the movie is very odd. A lot of the actors seem very distant, monotone and only once or twice is there a scene that really involves a violent emotion. Every other time, even in big moments in the film, there isn’t anything other than a sense of “dull surprise” from the actors. It’s like if Christian Bale’s performance at the very end of the film AMERICAN PSYCHO was more or less the only emotion he had for the entire film. It causes a disconnect, and it feels alien overall.
"ANTIVIRAL is a movie that will make you interested in the premise, but hate having to actually watch it. "
The movie has some great, tense moments in it. The scene near the third act with Syd creeping around in the shadows in this apartment complex is very tense filled in particular. Also, it does unnerve you with all the genetic horrors they present in this world. What hurt it, though, is once again the editing, with the film never really transitioning to scenes, more shooting a random aspect, then cutting to another scene, and then cutting to another scene to continue that last scene. It’s a jump cut that throws you off a lot.
As for the DVD, it has a good number of features. It has a commentary track with the director and cinematographer, as well as a making of featurette, delete scenes, trailer and a behind the scenes segment. It also has Spanish subtitles. It’s a good number of special features to get into after a viewing.
The Verdict
It’s a movie that ends up sabotaging itself more often than not. It’s an interesting premise, with some odd execution, and harmed by the way it was cut. Overall, approach only if you have an interest in it, or are curious. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be missing much.
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