Well, that was very different from what I expected.
In slasher or survival movies, characters are often written in a way that an audience will be able to like at least one (often the "final girl").However, that certainly wasn't the case in Rabies, and I think most would agree. This can actually be liberating because you end up rooting for everyone to get fucked so you can just enjoy the kills. Aside from that, the movie's plot and structure are a complete, chaotic mess. That sounds negative, but it works well here.
If you were to briefly describe what Rabies is about, you could say this: Two siblings (who are also a couple, lol) fled into the woods, but the sister fell into a trap set by a serial killer, who is now holding her captive in a tiny underground bunker. The brother then "runs into" a group of young tennis players and asks them for help. Meanwhile, a ranger and two police officers also play central roles.
What follows is the mentioned chaos. The characters encounter each other in the forest, misunderstand one another, and react with paranoia, aggression, or unhappiness. In the process, they almost exclusively kill each other. The serial killer plays a minor role and is more of a supporting character.
For me, the whole thing definitely worked. Compared to Big Bad Wolves, which was also directed by the same duo and was significantly darker and more brutal, Rabies is much lighter fare. In my opinion, however, both are well-made in their own way and worth watching.
Well, that was very different from what I expected.
In slasher or survival movies, characters are often written in a way that an audience will be able to like at least one (often the "final girl").However, that certainly wasn't the case in Rabies, and I think most would agree. This can actually be liberating because you end up rooting for everyone to get fucked so you can just enjoy the kills. Aside from that, the movie's plot and structure are a complete, chaotic mess. That sounds negative, but it works well here.
If you were to briefly describe what Rabies is about, you could say this: Two siblings (who are also a couple, lol) fled into the woods, but the sister fell into a trap set by a serial killer, who is now holding her captive in a tiny underground bunker. The brother then "runs into" a group of young tennis players and asks them for help. Meanwhile, a ranger and two police officers also play central roles.
What follows is the mentioned chaos. The characters encounter each other in the forest, misunderstand one another, and react with paranoia, aggression, or unhappiness. In the process, they almost exclusively kill each other. The serial killer plays a minor role and is more of a supporting character.
For me, the whole thing definitely worked. Compared to Big Bad Wolves, which was also directed by the same duo and was significantly darker and more brutal, Rabies is much lighter fare. In my opinion, however, both are well-made in their own way and worth watching.
