Let me just come right out and say I have nothing against remakes. I'm fine with another filmmaker trying their hand at a tale that's been told. Case in point, I'm looking forward to seeing what the Soska sisters have in-store for us with their upcoming remake of David Cronenberg's RABID.
The last time we talked about the RABID remake here was when we let you know that the sisters planned for the film to stay within the realms of Cronenberg's "body-horror" sub-genre of terror.
Today we have further insight into just what the sisters have planned as they recently sat down for an interview about their remake with Rue Morgue. Being that the sisters tend to finish each other's sentences the following is kinda messy, but I'm sure none of you care about such things. Now onto the info.
Jen Soska on RABID:
We’ve been pregnant with RABID for over a year and a half. When you fund something through a government instead of a studio, there are many different steps and it takes a lot of time for people to sign contracts. I’m very excited for RABID, because not only is it kind of an extension of AMERICAN MARY, it’s really a study of all of David Cronenberg’s work. I just want to impress him. If other people like it, I’ll be happy, but all I want is for him to love it.
Sylvia adds:
It’s important to be super-respectful with it because there’s such a negative connotation to remakes. What David did with THE FLY was so beautiful, and also, he met his late wife on RABID, and we’re friends with [their filmmaker son] Brandon. I feel like a mama bear protecting RABID; I try to be calm and super-zen, but sometimes I hear something and think, ‘David wouldn’t do that!’
Jen speaks up:
All we say is, ‘That’s not Cronenberg!’
Sylvia continues:
I found out that he wanted originally to put the tentacle between Rose’s legs, and that was my first suggestion. We got shot down on that, but I was like, ‘I’m thinking like David; that’s good, right?’
The two then go on to talk about what we can expect from the body-horror they plan to use it their take. Including the "tentacle" being placed somewhere other than the armpit…
Sylvia on the remake's FX:
MastersFX is onboard, and we’ve been designing some really amazing stuff. We didn’t get to do the vagina, but we found another place to put it, and I think we’re gonna scare the shit out of people.
Jen adds:
We want to do some body-horror that’s like, ‘What the fuck is this?’—that you’ve never seen. That has been a challenge for us because I’ve seen a lot of weird Japanese movies that go way past what most normal people watch. But we’ve got a lot of surprises in RABID, and I think people are going to be impressed.
The Soska Sister's RABID remake begins production soon, and casting is underway.
