Antiviral (2013)

Good concept, poorly executed.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The only thing that I can applaud about Antiviral is that it is a story that you never saw before. So for the innovating concept the movie can get some credits. But the actual outcome isn't by far any good as the idea of the movie. They could have done so much more and better with that story. The movie is way too slow and sometimes repetitive. I had to fight against falling asleep more than once during Antiviral and it was not because I was tired. The main character played by Caleb Landry Jones didn't do any good to the movie either. I thought his acting was very monotone and boring to watch. So with the potential of the script I can only be disappointed with the outcome.

I don't think we really praise and hold up high celebrities these days as we used to, but this guy thinks we will in the future. Even if it kills us.What a strange little marvel Director/Writer Brandon Cronenberg created here. Apparently, in the future, people will PAY to get infected with terrible viruses the top elite celebrities acquired. Seriously, I don't ever see our society going this far and hopefully, we won't become this stupid. But, then again, Trump became President, so I guess anything's possible.The movie feels so small and yet built a complete and realistic future of genetic manipulations, disease sharing and black market cloning. Heck, also cannibalism from said cloning. I definitely praise the film for what felt like a low budget and making me truly believe this universe exists.The core of the story is this always sickly salesman/inside man who's selling his company's viruses in the worst possible way. Eventually, he bites off more than he can spew blood and the race is on, from all parties to find a cure.The movie feels both straight-forward and confusing at times, at least for me, and I dug that. Kept me engaged, albeit disappointed and grossed out at times. It's a hard watch, but enormously original and incredibly shot from beginning to end. Highly recommended for futuristic, sci-fi horror buffs.But not for the squeamish. Or people afraid of needles. Or the sight of blood. Or licking said blood up.***Final thoughts: Some people have foot-fetishes. Smelling of someone else's clothes for kicks. But, would you have yourself injected with an STD just to get closer to your obsession? God, I hope not. But watch here how people won't just demand it, but will pay top dollar for a celebrity's illness, to put it mildly. Maybe that's all part of the horror brilliance of this movie…how far to stretch the deepest part of the human desires. Well done, Brandon, son of David Cronenberg. You remembered the face of your father

ANTIVIRAL is the debut film from Brandon Cronenberg, son of famous Canadian filmmaker David. Cronenberg writes and directs this bleak tale of a futuristic world in which the obsession for fame and celebrity sees a company actually bottling up and selling celebrity illness to obnoxious fans. The main character is a young sicko who attempts to make a buck or two on the black market but who finds himself in a very serious situation as a result.I have to say that I didn't care for this film at all. As a black comedy it's pretty sick and the humour feels rather forced and unpleasant; it's not the sort of thing I'd find funny. It's a gory effort with an emphasis on body horror which is odd given that in an interview I saw Cronenberg say he has no real interest in the horror genre; perhaps that's why this film feels so half-hearted as a result.The main character is a repulsive creep and the supporting cast of self-obsessed celebrities is even worse. The plot feels rather aimless, going from obvious digs at celebrity culture to viral outbreaks and illness, and it never really gels. The clinical look of the thing is overdone and over-obvious. In the end, it's the low budget and lack of coherence that makes ANTIVIRAL a chore to sit through.

Well am not gonna write an essay on this movie, it's just not worth it everything up to the idea behind the movie is way too messed up to sound even close to plausible..Celebrities illness sold to hardcore fans by the thousands, cloned celebrities meat (yeah meat) sold for some fancy disgusting looking restaurant or whatever.. really? so in middle of that kind of messed up ideas you have that guy, he looks as messed up as the story he's stuck in, always speaking as if he's on heavy sedation, whispering horribly (hard to catch everything he says even)..no matter what happen to him you can't feel any sympathy for him, or anyone in the movie for that matter.. you just look at them and hope for the movie to finish soon, there is no fancy twist in the plot or anything on the technical level the movie isn't all that bad even if it does look cheap (probably is a cheap budget anyway it doesn't really matter), but that's not the issue here...really just save yourself some time, skip this movie, and while am at it, the ending is terrible, doesn't make much sense, the way the hero recovers magically and whatever.. gah there is no end to this badness!