Two years after the project was first announced, twin sister directing duo Jen and Sylvia Soska's remake of David Cronenberg's 1977 body horror classic RABID is set to start filming in April – and before cameras start rolling, the project has already secured a U.S. distribution deal.
The distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory has acquired the digital, on-demand, broadcast, home entertainment, and select SVOD rights required to give RABID a cross-platform release in the United States. RABID's producers at Back 40 Pictures are planning to give the film a theatrical release.
Cronenberg's RABID starred porn legend Marilyn Chambers (pictured above) as Rose,
a woman injured in a motorcycle accident who underwent a surgical operation and developed a stinger that she uses to feed on people's blood — triggering an outbreak of a rabies-like epidemic that turned its victims into bloodthirsty zombies.
Written by John Serge and the Soskas, this new take on the material is about
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.
Jordan Fields, VP of Acquisitions at Shout! Studios, had this to say about the project:
Remaking one of the seminal films of David Cronenberg’s early work is audacious, exciting and not a little nerve-wracking. But there are no better hands in which to place this challenge than the four belonging to the enormously talented Soska sisters."
We'll keep you updated as RABID makes its way through production and toward release. With the filming start date coming up soon, I'm anxious to hear who the Soskas will be casting as Rose.