[The Rage]
Plot:Dr. Victor Vasilienko conducts experiments with a deadly rage virus on innocent kidnapees in the woods. The patients manage to escape but are then eaten by vultures. Afterwards,the mutate into beings with a taste for human flesh.

Cast:Andrew Divoff, Carmella DeCesare, Reggie Bannister, Erin Brown.

My Thoughts:Awesome!

Review:Wasn't exactly sure what to expect from Robert Kurtzman's horror pic "The Rage", but what I got was indeed a pleasant surprise of gore-filled and extremely bloody proportions. The film follows a doctor named Victor Vasilienko (Divoff), who is conducting inhumane experiments on people in his secret lab located deep in the woods. Unfortunately for Victor, one of his labrats breaks free, and attacks him. After that, the person escapes the lab into the woods. This is no ordinary person though, for they are infected with a deadly serum called "Rage", which turns any human being into a flesh craving murderous monster.

And this infected specimen being on the loose is not a good thing. I was really worried that this movie would follow the usual pattern of most mad doctor movies. Although Vasilienko may seem like a mad doctor at first, there is a method to his madness which we find out later, but back to what I was saying, most mad doctor movies follow the usual pattern of terrible CGI looking monsters, lame plot twists, and shitty dialogue. But this film had some actual effort put behind it, most importantly in the story department. Which is why it turned out so well.

The film also has a great cast, with the veteran Divoff of the first two "Wishmaster" films, Erin Brown a well known indie actress, and some newcomers who were quite talented in their roles as a group of friends on their way from an outdoor rock concert, who end up the targets of Rage infected adversaries. Reggie Bannister also makes a cameo in the film, and what happens to him during this film is pretty damn funny, yet in some ways sad at the same time. But there is one line in particular of dialogue he utters which I'm sure "Phantasm" fans will chuckle at.

"The Rage" is a movie which is also not shy about being what it is. It piles on the blood, the gore, the dismemberment, the grotesque, gory, ugly faces, and has a very high body count which is always a plus. But the real bonus of this movie...KILLER RAGE INFECTED VULTURES! And they don't make a cameo either, these bad boys are around for the whole film, swooping down, pecking, ripping, and tearing away at anyone and anything they can get their beaks on. The vultures also were incorporated into the movie very well, with a mix of creature fx, and some computer designs, but their look was done really, really well.

And how many horror films in the last 10 or so years can say they had killer vultures as their antagonists? This movie actually has many different antagonists, as the rage virus is spread from person to person to animal, and then back to person. We get rage infected water mocassins, vultures, adults, children, midgets, etc. Kurtzman truly made this film great by tossing in a serious 80's throwback vibe, to the days when monster movies involving mad or rogue scientists were actually not shy about being monster movies. And "The Rage" is a monster movie, and it makes no bones about it.

It doesn't try to be overly scientific, or even take a break from the goriness of it all. It hits you with graphic content and keeps the ball rolling, even pushing the envelope as it continues on. The luck of it all though is the film still managed to have a good story, likeable characters, and above average performances...even though it's obvious most of the serious concentration went into making the film a very entertaining gorefest.

The deaths in the movie should give any serious horror fan goosebumps as they are all as equally gory and gross, as they are bloody and violent. "The Rage" has a very cool finale as well, a finale which contains alot of intense and very gory moments. The closing scene is a bit of a disappointment though, but not too much. "The Rage" should be a film all horror fans, and fans of indie horror pictures end up enjoying. It really knows the genre well, and isn't afraid to get more than a little messy while having fun doing it.

Positives:Buckets full of blood and gore, good performances, likeable characters, and a great story.

Negatives:I thought the closing scene was a bit unfair.

Overall:Great SCI-FI/Horror blend!





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