DVD Corner

Antiviral 4K UHD Review

“Antiviral” is a prescient sci-fi horror film. 

Written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, the filmmaker follows in his father’s footsteps with a startlingly original sci-fi body horror film with 2012’s “Antiviral.” The story revolves around Syd- an employee of The Lucas Clinic which obtains virus/disease samples from celebrity clients. Fans of the celebs are then able to have the viruses injected into their bodies. Wanting to make more money, Syd secretly injects himself with the viruses and later sells them on the black market to individuals like Arvid (who sells meat grown from the cells of celebs). One day, Syd gets the opportunity to get a viral sample from the popular celebrity Hannah. He injects himself with the virus, but when he learns that Hannah dies from it, he is now at risk of death. From there on out, Syd’s life spirals out of control as his body not only becomes an exploited lab rat by others, but he learns secrets about the virus, corporations, a faked death, and an AI afterlife program.

Before the COVID pandemic, before the rise of AI, and before the release of “The Substance,” the now 13 year old “Antiviral” tackled some ahead of its time subject matters with celebrity culture, viruses, corporatization, and even artificial intelligence of celebrities. While it’s clear Brandon Cronenberg is dipping his toes into the body horror subgenre made famous by his father David Cronenberg, Brandon puts his own unique stamp on his work here (and with the fantastic “Possessor” which followed this). Brandon has crafted an unsettling, visual, noirish, relevant, and nasty story with some vivid world building. There’s a fully realized world within “Antiviral” and a disturbing one at that. It’s even more disturbing knowing that it doesn’t feel that far removed from our own society as people already go to great lengths to obtain celebrity items.

You may not know his name, but Caleb Landry Jones is a bold actor who often takes on unique roles like in “Dogman,” “Twin Peaks,” and “Get Out” to name a few. Even though this film was relatively early on in his career, he does an incredible job leading the challenging material. Elsewhere in the cast are memorable performances from Malcolm McDowell, Sarah Gadon (another underrated actor), and Joe Pingue as the meat market man Arvid.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 2160p. How does it look? The dazzling cinematography by Karim Hussain is really striking in 4K. It’s like watching the film anew. 

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? This is not a very audio intensive film but the 5.1 track is effective nonetheless.

Extras (On The Blu-ray Unless Noted):
* Trailer (on the 4K and Blu-ray)
* Commentary by Brandon Cronenberg and DP Karim Hussain. (on the 4K and Blu-ray)
* Blu-ray copy
* Brandon Cronenberg’s short film “Broken Tulips.”
* 5 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary by Cronenberg and Hussain.
* “Anatomy Of A Virus”- A near 30 minute making of featurette with interviews, discussions about the script and production, set footage and more.
* “Reviving A Dead Cell”- Cronenberg and Hussain chat about the restoration and the making of the film.
* “Brandon Cronenberg: A First-Time Director’s Vision”- The title says it all.
* “The Design Of Antiviral”- An interview with production designer Arvinder Greywal.
* “First Meeting”- A behind-the-scenes look at Caleb Landry Jones and Sarah Gadon acting together.
* “Manufacturing Celebrity”- A standard EPK.

February 27, 2025 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | Antiviral 4K UHD Review, Body Horror, Brandon Cronenberg, Caleb Landry Jones, Sci-fi