We’ve been hearing about Jen and Sylvia Soska’s planned remake of David Cronenberg’s Rabid for a bit now. Plans to tackle the director’s 1977 vampire pandemic allegory were announced last year, sound bites were offered, but it’s been quiet for a spell.
Today out of the Berlin International Film Festival comes the news that the twins’ long-gestating reboot finally has a production start date (April!), a distributor (Shout! Studios, with a theatrical release planned by Back 40 Pictures), and a synopsis. Per THR:
The updated film revolves around Rose, a young woman who, after an accident leaves her scarred beyond recognition, undergoes a radical untested stem-cell treatment. While turning Rose into the belle of the ball, the experimental transformation comes at a price.
I mentioned last year that this scenario is ripe with possibilities, and now that it’s happening I remain excited to see where this filmmaking duo takes their version Rabid. The big deal of remaking Cronenberg seems not lost on them, and in reading between the lines one gets the impression they really want to make this one count. Here’s hoping they crush it.