.

Set in a future reality where consumption of celebrity has taken a frightening (and quite frankly, disgusting) turn, an enterprising young man named Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) who works as an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities begins smuggling them from the clinic in his own body to sell on the black market. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super celeb Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon), Syd quickly becomes a hot property  amongst unsavory virus pirates and rabid fans. In order to save himself, he sets out to unravel the mystery surrounding Hannah’s death before he succumbs to it as well.

This film is not for the faint of heart. If you’re at all put off by blood, needles  or general body horror this is probably not  going to be a comfortable night at the movies  for you. That said, writer/director Brandon Cronenberg (son of David) has created an  extremely stylish satire about the direction of celebrity culture rife with imagery and  ideas that are inventive, if a little heavy-handed in their message. Basically, Antiviral is a weird-ass little movie that boasts some great deadpan humour, cool visuals and a sensibility that’s right in line with the family business.

Is Antiviral TIFF Essential Viewing?

Considering the juxtaposition of having a film about the public’s ever-worsening obsession with celebrity culture screen at a film festival that is obsessed with red carpets and celebrity guests, it might be worthwhile to check Antiviral out at TIFF for the interesting Q&A that may ensue afterwards. Otherwise, the film opens in October and would make good Halloween month viewing.

Antiviral Screening Times

• Monday, September 10, 2012 at 9:00pm at Ryerson Theatre
• Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 2:45pm at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

More About Antiviral

Antiviral Trailer

Antiviral Production Gallery

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Kristal Cooper

Editor-in-Chief

Kristal Cooper has been a film buff since the age of two when her parents began sneaking her into the drive-in every weekend. Since then, she’s pursued that passion by working for the Toronto International Film Festival and the Canadian Film Centre as well as spending many a happy hour inside Toronto’s wonderful theatres (she still mourns the loss of The Uptown). She currently acts as Toronto Film Scene’s Editor-in-Chief, is a freelance writer specializing in pop culture and feminist issues, and continues to slog away at her day job as a small cog in the giant machinery of the Toronto film community.

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