Hypochondriacs should avoid "Antiviral" like, well, the plague. This creepy near-future-dystopia flick features enough coughing, sneezing, night sweats, bloody vomiting and gnarly sores to make even the jaded viewer feel like gargling and showering with antibacterial soap.
But as a squirm-inducing body horror film, it's certainly effective, and it's no surprise to find the name Cronenberg attached to it. This time though it's Cronenberg fils, 33-year-old Brandon Cronenberg, the son of Canada's most famous director. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say, and that's as true as ever with "Antiviral."
Caleb Landry Jones (Banshee in "X-Men: First Class") plays Syd March, a corporate salesman at The Lucas Clinic with a very unusual celebrity product on offer: viruses. Rabid fans of these near-future equivalents of the Kardashians or Justin Bieber can, for a price, have themselves infected with the exact same strand of common cold or herpes virus that their idol is afflicted by, harvested directly from the star. It's a chance to feel "more connected" with the glitterati.