Fame Comes at a Horrifying Price

Read Time:6 Minute, 20 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Antiviral [LE 3-Disc 4K UHD + Booklet w/Exclusive Slipcover]
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Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Year Released: 2012, Severin Films 4K 2025
Runtime: 1h 53m
Director(s): Brandon Cronenberg
Writer(s): Brandon Cronenberg
Cast: Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell, Joe Pingue, Sheila McCarthy, Douglas Smith, Wendy Crewson, Nicholas Campbell, James Cade, Dawn Greenhalgh
Where To Watch: available March 25, 2025, order your copy here: www.severinfilms.com

RAVING REVIEW: Celebrity obsession has always bordered on the extreme, but ANTIVIRAL imagines a world where the lines between admiration and possession have completely blurred. In this cold, clinical future, fandom is not just about following your favorite star’s career or emulating their style—it’s about physically experiencing their existence. The film takes this concept and stretches it to unsettling extremes, where people pay for the privilege of injecting themselves with viruses extracted directly from celebrities. The result is a horror-tinged dystopian thriller that feels uncomfortably plausible, raising disturbing questions about identity, devotion, and the commodification of the human body.

Syd March, played by Caleb Landry Jones, works for the Lucas Clinic, a facility that traffics in celebrity-borne illnesses, offering a unique way for fans to connect with their idols. But he isn’t just a salesman; he’s running his own underground business, infecting himself with these highly sought-after viruses and smuggling them out of the clinic to sell on the black market. It’s a dangerous game, one that escalates when he unknowingly injects himself with a lethal, unidentified virus carried by one of the industry’s most famous figures. What starts as a high-risk hustle spirals into a desperate fight for survival as Syd races to uncover the truth behind the virus before it kills him.

Brandon Cronenberg’s directorial debut immediately establishes him as a filmmaker with a sharp, uncompromising vision. The film is steeped in a sterile, almost suffocating aesthetic, where pale lighting and bleak environments reinforce the story’s detached, artificial world. There’s a discomforting beauty in its design—a world drained of warmth, mirroring its characters’ hollow existence. This isn’t just a dystopian nightmare; it’s an extension of reality that takes today’s obsession with fame and pushes it into new territory. Every frame feels intentionally crafted to maintain this unsettling atmosphere, making the film feel like an eerie, slow-burning fever dream.

Jones delivers a performance that perfectly complements this vision, portraying Syd as a ghost of a man deteriorating before our eyes. His pale, sickly appearance adds to the film’s creeping unease, and his quiet, calculated presence makes him as much a part of the clinic’s sterile environment as the equipment around him. The physicality of his performance—every twitch, every labored breath—adds layers to the film’s experience, making his descent into sickness feel disturbingly real. Supporting performances from Sarah Gadon and Malcolm McDowell add further depth to the world, though much of the film relies on Jones to carry its detached tone.

ANTIVIRAL’s world is meticulously built but demands a certain suspension of disbelief. The idea that people would willingly inject themselves with incurable diseases to feel closer to celebrities is undeniably unsettling. Still, it also requires the audience to accept that this industry could exist without major ethical or scientific pushback. The film operates in a heightened reality, where the absurd is treated with clinical seriousness, but it sometimes struggles to justify the logic behind its world-building fully. While this doesn’t derail the experience, it does make some aspects feel more like provocative ideas rather than a fully realized dystopia. (although, let’s be serious, some people would absolutely take a fatal disease from Trump…)

Minimalism plays a key role in the film’s storytelling, stripping away excess and focusing entirely on its central themes. The sparse dialogue and cold, calculated cinematography make every moment feel deliberate, but this also means the film isn’t in a hurry to propel its plot forward. The pacing may challenge audiences expecting a more traditional thriller, as much of the film lingers in its sterile world, letting the atmosphere do the heavy lifting.

ANTIVIRAL is not just a horror story—it’s a statement. It critiques a world where people consume celebrity culture to the point of self-destruction, where the line between admiration and ownership has been completely erased. The film’s ideas are bold, and its execution even more daring. While it may not cater to mainstream expectations, it firmly establishes the young Cronenberg as a director with something to say. It’s a film that lingers, its imagery and themes infecting the mind.

Severin Films continues to cement its reputation as one of the most dedicated boutique labels in physical media, offering meticulously restored editions. Their commitment to high-quality transfers loaded with special features and deep dives into obscure cinema make each release feel like an event for collectors.

While some may find its pacing too restrained or its world too detached, there’s no denying it achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It’s a deliberately uncomfortable watch designed to provoke rather than entertain. For those willing to embrace its eerie, methodical storytelling, it’s a fascinating, if unsettling, glimpse into the extremes of human obsession.

Disc 1: 4K UHD (Theatrical Cut + Special Features)
Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Brandon Cronenberg And Director Of Photography Karim Hussain
Trailer

Disc 2: Blu-ray (Theatrical Cut + Special Features)
Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Brandon Cronenberg And Director Of Photography Karim Hussain
BROKEN TULIPS – Short Film Written And Directed By Brandon Cronenberg
Anatomy Of A Virus – Making-Of Featurette
Reviving A Dead Cell – Brandon Cronenberg And Karim Hussain Discuss The Restoration
Brandon Cronenberg: A First-Time Director's Vision
Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary By Brandon Cronenberg And Karim Hussain
First Meeting – With Actors Caleb Landry Jones And Sarah Gadon
The Design Of ANTIVIRAL – Interview With Production Designer Arvinder Greywal
Manufacturing Celebrity – EPK With Cast And Crew
Trailer

Disc 3: Blu-ray (Cannes Cut + Special Feature)
Introduction To The Cannes Cut By Writer/Director Brandon Cronenberg And Director Of Photography Karim Hussain
FLIR P660 Thermal Camera Test
Exclusive Booklet By Claire Donner Of The Miskatonic Institute Of Horror Studies

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[photo courtesy of SEVERIN FILMS]

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