Rabid (also known as Rage) - David Cronenberg - Canada - (1977)

Plot by Imdb:"A young woman develops a taste for human blood after undergoing experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into rabid, blood-thirsty zombies who proceed to infect others, which turns into a city-wide epidemic."

Excellent follow up to "Shivers" and annunciating the little known masterpiece "The Brood", this vampire-zombies-virus paranoid movie is one of the gems from the early years of master David Cronenberg carrier. Low budgeted but already carrying all the ingredients of Cronenberg's obsessions: mutation, biological decay, contamination, social ostracism in front of a disease, society (or culture) seen as weak in front of biology, etc...The carrier is sexy pornstar Marylin Chambers, that pulls out a great performance and shows everybody that she can act with clothes on, as well. As she carries on spreading the virus, the weakness of human sociological behavior in front of a biological threat is more and more present until a chaotic final that is clearly shows that our society can fall into panic anytime, confronted to its very organic composition: us.

Then our only response for survival is a non-human one: extermination.

 

Incredibly modern in its themes, this Cronenberg movie will creep under your skin and make you unconfortable. 

If you start spitting white mossy liquid and feeling enraged, it's too late.

Trailer:

Plaga Zombie Zona Mutante - Pablo Parés & Hernán Sáez - Argentina - (2001)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210909/ 

Plot: "Three dudes are running around, carrying a body bag that holds the secret cure for the Zombie infection that's plaguing the city."

Some secret agent men, a cow-boy style wrestler, a nerdy coward, etc...Welcome to the world of "Farsa Producciones" , a film company in Argentina that made this abnormal fun flick. Gore Gore girls, friends of the Splatter, this zombie comedy was made for you. At first, it feels like a homemade movie and then you notice that they really try to make a movie out their "recreational time". Thanks to mix between pure amateurism and the will to do something that feels like a movie, the movie keeps being entertaining and fun to watch. If you're into homemade fx and heavy humor, if you're in gross dismemberment and stupid jokes, if you've been raised by Peter Jackson's first movies, if you think making a zombie movie during the week-ends is more fun than playing golf with your step dad, well, don't look any further. This movie was waiting for you.
Nice to hear that Fangoria is distributing the movie in the USA.

Trailer:

John West's song:

Apocalypse Domani a.k.a Cannibal Apocalypse - Antonio Margheriti - Italia - (1980)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080379/ 

aka "Invasion of the Fleshhunters", aka "Cannibals in the Streets"

Plot from Imdb. "Giovanni Lambardo Radice and John Saxon are Vietman vets that bring back contagious virus that turn people into cannibals when bitten."

Another absolute gem ! What a great b-movie ! It has all and it works really well. With a title like "Cannibal Apocalypse", one might think this is going to be another of the "plastic jungle - gratuitous  animal cruelty - half naked savages - mondo movies" from our Italians friends. Hell no ! There is just a small Vietnam sequence at the beginning and the rest is an urban virus movie that's really gripping. Antonio Margheriti, working under the surname of "Anthony M. Dawson", was a director during the great exploitation era in Italy, the 70's. Like Mario Bava and others, he worked in almost every genre:  from Science Fiction to Peplum, from Giallo to Crime movies. In my opinion, this one is one of his best work. John Saxon ("Black Christmas" , "Enter the dragon", and zillions of others) has the main role and, as the rest of the cast, does a great job. No "over acting" and keeping it low tone, all the way. Some sequences are obviously very influenced by other movies, "Dawn of the Dead" during the sewer sequence and "A dog's day afternoon" in the "supermarket shooting" one. The story is simple but efficient. You find yourself  rooting for this odd group of Vietnam vets, condemned to try to survive by a virus, like they were condemned by society to try to survive at war. Society = war ? I'll let you be the judge of that. Really nice movie, would love to find a better copy somewhere.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Trailer