IFC Films has released a featurette for its upcoming contagion thriller.
Antiviral depicts the story of a young man who works as a sort of virus-paparazzi in a future world where celebrity mania has gotten far out of control. The thriller is a parody of sorts, crticizing both the world of celebrity super-fandom and the culture’s current obsession with disease and the avoidance of germs.
This featurette goes into the methods and inspirations of director Brandon Cronenberg (Son of famed director David Cronenberg), directing his first feature-length film. The cast and crew have great things to say about their helmer’s vision, which is not a surprise, but we usually we don’t get quite so much internal lauding for such a rookie, but the low-budget production does look pretty good for what it is.
We have this official synopsis:
Syd March [is] an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to rabid fans who wish to partake in the ultimate form of communion. Syd supplements his income by selling illegal samples of these viruses on the black market, smuggling them out of the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills superstar Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and obsessed fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding the starlet’s death before he too meets a morbid end.
Here’s the theatrical trailer:
It’s nice to see that Cronenberg has resisted the temptation to include a bunch of startle moments, making it a genuine thriller in the classic tradition – though they could just not be in the trailer.
Antiviral, which stars Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, and Malcolm McDowell, has completed all production phases and been picked up for distribution, but does not yet have an announced release date.
