Hey gang, Valkor here. So when I reach into the pile of TOV movies to review, I get the sensation – that I’m about to go on a mystical, wondrous journey filled with action, suspense and even romance. But then I pull out a film such as the one I’m about to review, Rabid Love DVD, and I’m brought back to earth filled with disappointment and heartache… with a tiny dose of shame. Spoilers ahead.
Rabid Love finds five friends out for a “cabin in the woods” visit. The local cop, who is also the cousin of one of the campers, gives them a warning that a bear might be running loose and hunters have gone missing. Warning accepted, but when one of the campers – John, meets with a stranger in the woods named David, the two hit it off; but John is suddenly bitten by a mosquito… maybe. Whatever it was, It's something that David gives him a smack on the shoulder. Afterwards, he welcomes David to the cabin for dinner. Later that evening John starts acting distant and weird, maybe that bite wasn’t just a bite after all… but soon the blood begins to flow and it becomes apparent that this guy David is more than the nice guy who he appeared to be... complete with crazy, metallic bear claws to boot.
Rabid Love is a total 80s throwback; from the grain of the film, the music and clothes – everything just screams 80s. Now I’ve sat through my share of throwbacks - The House of the Devil and Run! Bitch Run! Automatically come to mind. And in my book, those were pretty good films. But Rabid Love… hmmm… Let’s just dip into the TOV Breakdown.
The Good:
Rabid Love has a few things going for it right out the box; first up, the film totally feels like an 80s flick – from the grain, the clothes, even the music screams total 80s. And as a child who has made it through that decade with all my sanities intact, I can attest that the team that made the film nailed it. Nostalgia take me away! Next is that soundtrack, which is completely original, is so amazing and spot on; it not only sets the mood of the film, but each piece fits so perfectly with each scene it accompanies. And such a great mix of rock, ballad, pop, folksy and even electrical? Oh yea, it’s in there! I don’t normally link to soundtracks, but this one is definitely worth checking out. Finally, Hannah Landberg, who plays the ever so sexy but totally abused Summer, gets a huge knob… I mean nod for TOV PerfectView. No sooner is she on screen does she make my bobbit do the happy dance. And for that, I thank whoever did the casting, because that’s a prime score right there. I would think trying to nail that 80s look and feel couldn’t have been easy, but Rabid Love does the decade right with that regard.
The Bad:
But once you strip away the look, the sexy women and the awesome tracks, you’re left with a pretty drab film. Rabid Love… it’s just boring and uneventful. It takes a hot minute to kickstart and when something does happen... it simply falls flat – there’s just no POP in this one, no spark. And there’s no real build up towards anything remotely suspenseful or scary - the whole thing just drags through its 90 minute run at turtle speed. Many a times I was tempted to just shut the damn thing off, but then I remember I’ve sat through far worse than this. However, getting to that ending - and I’ll admit it’s a nice twist, didn’t really make the journey worth it.
The Ugly:
That pile of meat that the girls poke through. Eeash!
Rabid Love is available now and while I can apprectiate the 80s vibe the film gives off, I can’t really give this one the go sign – leave this one at the starting gates folks and look for something with a higher chill/creep factor. If I were to dip back into this flick, I’d do it just for the soundtrack. But as it stands, out of TOV 5 stars, I give Rabid Love a 1.
