Starring Erin Brown, Andrew Divoff, Reggie Bannister, Ryan Hooks
Directed by Robert Kurtzman
Distributed by Screen Media Films
Now this is what I’m talking about, man. Lots of films claim to be throwbacks to simpler cinema times, but few succeed. Sometimes it feels as if all the fun has been sucked out of our genre what with all the remakes, bad sequels, and neutered PG-13 rated chills. Where are our bloodbaths? Where are our monster movies? Where are our Herbert Wests? I’ll tell you where. They are alive, well, and ready to maim for your pleasure at a moment’s notice thanks to a little film from F/X genius Robert Kurtzman called The Rage.
Meet Dr. Viktor Vasilienko (Andrew Divoff, kicking a copious amount of ass as always). After his parents succumb to cancer when he is a boy, he vows to find a cure. The good doctor ends up spending his entire youth into adulthood poring through books and researching any possibility to rid humanity of this debilitating curse. But what happens when he hits pay-dirt? Is there a Nobel Prize waiting for him? Are there accolades of any kind? No. Instead, Western Pharmaceutical Companies has him imprisoned in a mental institution because they don’t want his cure to get out there. It seems that it’s more profitable to treat the disease than it is to cure it altogether.
After months of torture and degradation Dr. V escapes and makes it to the States. Again, he tries to let the world know about his discovery but is quickly dismissed as a nutcase after having his picture splashed across the cover of The Weekly World News. How I miss that paper. Taking a shit has just never been the same since it went under. Anyways, this latest injustice was the last straw for our soon-to-be-evil mad scientist. He decides that if he cannot cure the world, he’ll infect it further with a new virus he calls Rage.
The Rage would feel right at home in the Eighties stuffed between classics like Re-Animator and From Beyond. It pulls no punches and never tries to be more than what it is — a movie to pop in on a Friday night with an ample amount of friends, beer, booze, and a fat sack of leafy party favors in tow. Though it drags slightly around act two into act three, things never slow down too much, and this is one experience that can be enjoyed over multiple viewings. Mutant vultures! Gooey killers! Unabashed over-the-top blood-splattered mayhem! Robert Kurtzman’s The Rage reminds fans everywhere why we love this genre to begin with. It is without question an instant splatter classic!
So there you have it, kids. The Rage is one part nature run amok mixed with a heavy dosage of West’s re-agent to create a formula that’s all-time blood-drenched fun. There will no doubt be some who complain about the acting, along with numerous other things, and to them I say: Lighten up and remember the good times. There are plenty of movies out there that are considered classics that don’t exactly have what you would call thespian level performances or Spielberg level production values. Just pop a brew, grab a buddy, and enjoy the ride!
Special Features
4 out of 5
Special Features:
4 1/2 out of 5
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