{"id":30883,"date":"2025-03-24T22:28:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T05:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=30883"},"modified":"2025-03-24T22:28:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T05:28:23","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-and-blu-ray-review-antiviral-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=30883","title":{"rendered":"Blasts From the Past! 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Review: ANTIVIRAL (2012)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray release from Severin Films\nwill be available on March 25th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Most horror movie fans will be familiar with the work of\nCanadian David Cronenberg (The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome, The Dead Zone,\nThe Fly, Naked Lunch, Crash, eXistenZ, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises<\/em>)\nwhose many films have left an indelible mark on viewers. Two of his children\nare now accomplished filmmakers in their own right, including Caitlin\nCronenberg (Humane<\/em>) and Brandon Cronenberg, who now has three films\nunder his belt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His debut feature was Antiviral<\/em>, a movie that does certainly share some of the body horror themes of his father\u2019s work, but told through his own eyes. It garnered more positive notices than negative, but did turn a few stomachs as well. Over the past 13 years, the movie has aged remarkably well, and tapped into media obsession with celebrity, as well as viruses, that feel all the more convincing after the COVID-19 pandemic. Radiance Films is now presenting the movie in a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing to note is that, since the movie was shot\ndigitally and made on a limited budget in 2012, great effort was made to bring\nthe best possible version of the title to disc. According to Brandon Cronenberg\nand cinematographer Karim Hussain, the industry was still veering between\nformats, and so they shot it digitally and then created a film internegative\n(so that the movie could have film prints made and be shown in both formats).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who have seen the feature, it emphasizes white,\nsterile environments. Cronenberg states that while the original video captured\nthe cold images and detail perfectly, it lacked the appealing texture of a\nfilmic image. The internegative version excelled in this area, but the colors\nended up looking a little less white and more yellow than hoped for. With this\nnew 4K Ultra HD transfer, the team took that film internegative and altered the\ncolor so that it now looks as white and icy as originally intended. It\u2019s the\nbest of both worlds for this transfer and looks the part, offering a top-notch\ntransfer that perfectly represents the movie and intentions of the director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie does seem ahead of its time. In a rundown world where fandom is rampant, Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) works for a company that offers customers a special kind of intimacy with their favorite celebrity. They can purchase viruses that have passed through the star. And that\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg. Hannah Geist (Sarah Gadon) is one of those individuals whom March represents. After introducing how this all works, we learn that the lead also makes money on the side by stealing pathogens and selling them on the black market to a trafficker (Joe Pingue). When March steals a pathogen (using himself as an incubator) from Geist and she dies from the illness, panic sets in. He tries to suffer through the sickness, but also finds that various parties want him for their own use in selling the virus. Things get ickier and ickier and there are a few twists as the tale progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, stories featuring illness and viruses\nspreading among the public feel more relevant today than ever, as does the\ndepiction of celebrity worship and fandom staring at screens and obsessing over\nthe lives of complete strangers.  As mentioned, the images and indoor\nenvironments are distressingly clean. The performances are excellent, with\nCaleb Landry Jones making a compelling lead, taking a flawed individual and\ndrawing viewers into his strange world, which ultimately takes them through\nsome extremely dark and morbidly amusing passages. The supporting cast are\nexcellent as well, with Malcolm McDowell, Wendy Crewson and Douglas Smith\nmaking memorable appearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some may find it all too ugly, this is a fascinating\nmovie that will leave you about how troubled and addicted to media the world is\nbecoming. Additionally, it makes one think a little longer about viruses, and\nhow these organisms adapt and modify themselves after passing through our\nbodies again and again. It makes catching a simple cold feel all the more\nunsettling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 4K Ultra HD looks fantastic and marks the best\npresentation of the film ever. It comes with a commentary track featuring\nBrnadon Cronenberg and cinematographer Karim Hussain, who go into the look of\nthe movie and their attempt to give the film that eerie, white look. The\ndirector mentions that he was initially worried that Caleb Landry Jones might\nbe too young for the lead role, but that he had a strong presence from the\nbeginning and they quickly lost any concern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They tell stories about the shoot as well, going into some of the locations and where they found the film\u2019s grittier areas. The pair are a little rough on the city near Toronto where the movie was shot. I spent some time there and do believe that it has nice spots and plenty of charm\u2026 although as a teenager I was once stopped by a stranger and offered hash in front of an arcade close to a site used in the picture\u2026 But yes, while it has its sketchy areas, they could be a little kinder to this industrial center that helped provide a valuable backdrop to the picture. Still, at least it seems to be good-natured ribbing. Cronenberg also points out that some disturbing bits in the film are intended to be darkly funny and should be taken as such. A trailer is also included on the 4K disc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Blu-ray contains the film as well as more extras. This feature is based on a short film Cronenberg made called Broken Tulips<\/em> and it is presented here. One of its cast members even appears in the same role in the finished film. There is an informative segment with the director and the cinematographer explaining their work on the restoration and how the picture was cleaned up. It\u2019s an excellent bit that really helps one understand all the work that went into the image and the differences with the original digital and film versions. The still below has that yellowish tinge that was cleaned up for this release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also a making-of featurette and interview with the\ndirector where he explains the genesis of the story. Apparently, he got the\nidea after coming down with a terrible virus and wondering about all the people\nit went through and mutated from before reaching him. He also notes that he was\nfurther inspired after watching a celebrity talk about being sick and having a\nlive audience behave as if they would be thrilled to be infected by them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is some behind-the-scenes footage with Caleb Landry\nJones talking about his excitement in working on the project and meeting with\nthe cast and crew. Sarah Gordon is also included, who notes that she never\ncrossed paths with Jones until late in the shoot (when they finally do\ninteract) and that it was helpful for both parties. The disc also includes a\nconversation with late production designer\/art director Arvinder Greywal (Land\nof the Dead, Lars and the Real Girl<\/em>), who offers insight into creating the\nunusual world presented in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The original EPK is also included, which features most of\nthe cast and crew talking about their experiences working on the film. Malcolm\nMcDowell notes how much he likes working with new directors, suggesting that\nfor him it usually means that the onset atmosphere is dynamic and creative. The\ntrailer is also included on the Blu-ray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antiviral <\/em>holds up quite well and is a memorable\ndebut from Brandon Cronenberg (who would follow this title up with Possession<\/em>\nand Infinity Pool<\/em>). While it does bear some similarities to the work of\nhis father, it definitely has its own look and tone. The performances are\nfantastic, the concept is chilling and the movie stays with you long after the\ncredits have rolled. The 4K Ultra HD\/Blu-ray set is exceptional as well, with\nan incredible picture featuring more detail and whiter tones, as well as tons\nof engaging bonus material. For body horror film fans, it comes highly\nrecommended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray release from Severin Films will be available on March 25th. Most horror movie fans will be familiar with the work of Canadian David Cronenberg (The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome, The Dead Zone, The Fly, Naked Lunch, Crash, eXistenZ, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises) whose many films have left an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[162,1610,1611,1612,1613,1614,1615,2933,2936,2939,3067,3250,3421,3764,9319,12969,17678,18083,24091],"class_list":["post-30883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-162","tag-antiviral","tag-antiviral-4k-ultra-hd","tag-antiviral-4k-ultra-hd-review","tag-antiviral-film-review","tag-antiviral-movie-review","tag-antiviral-review","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-review","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-2","tag-blu-ray","tag-body-horror","tag-brandon-cronenberg","tag-caleb-landry-jones","tag-horror","tag-malcolm-mcdowell","tag-sarrah-gadon","tag-severin-films","tag-wendy-crewson"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}