"Rabies" review

Rabies (2010)

AKA Kalevet

Directors: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado
Writers: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado

Lior Ashkenazi ... Danny
Danny Geva ... Yuval
Ania Bukstein ... Adi
Menashe Noy ... Menashe
Ran Danker ... Mikey
Henry David ... Ofer
Ofer Shechter ... Pini
Liat Harlev ... Tali
Yael Grobglas ... Shir
Efrat Boimold ... Rona

A brother and sister are trapped in the woods with a madman. Meanwhile a car full of tennis players gets lost near the woods and run into the brother. This leads to mass confusion as the importance of friendship gets lost in the quest for survival. Before you know it, there are two cops and a park ranger thrown into the mix which leads to bloody results. Why is everyone going insane when they approach these woods? Who is the madman? Why are the brother and sister out there in the first place? So many questions but so few answers as madness seems to have an iron grip on anyone who ventures into the dark Israeli woods.

The first thing to know about “Rabies” is that no one has rabies. There’s no drooling St. Bernard dog, no one has Cabin Fever and no one gets rabid. Upon further research, the word Kalevet, (original title), can also mean “anything that isn’t good.” So it’s a very Kalevet afternoon in the woods for the characters in this movie. While there isn’t any rabies in the literal sense, everyone seems to go a little crazy. Sometimes they go a lot crazy. It’s just one of those Kalevet days.

“Rabies” is an Israeli made horror movie. A very unique horror film in that regard as I don’t recall ever seeing another Israeli made slasher flick. That would also explain why there was a scene with an air freshener painted with the Israeli flag dangling from a car rear view window. But I feel there may be some sort of subtle political message that perhaps I didn’t get. The movie may be trying to say something about the country going insane. Or maybe the filmmakers just don’t like the national park system. Or maybe the woods were close by and they decided to film there.

But if this movie wasn’t set in Israel, would it be as interesting? I’m not sure. One thing I am sure of is that Yael Grobglas is hot. She plays the blond tennis player who ventures into the woods. She was a pleasant sight to see as her world crumbled around her. There were extended scenes of her going to the bathroom, which one character insisted was hot, but I insist is not. I’m only saddened by the fact that she never consummated the lesbian crush that her teammate had on her.

“Rabies” is an interesting horror flick as it plays on the slasher conventions without fully committing to them. People are trapped in the woods, there’s a mad killer on the loose but nothing works out the way you think it would. It’s worth a look. The good news is that “Rabies” has plenty of bloodshed as the woods exert its homicidal hold over anyone who gets near it. The woods were completely Kalevet. Yael Grobglas wasn’t Kalevet though. She may have gone a little nuts, but nowhere near Kalevet.

SCORE: 3 out of 4 rabid women

A rabid Yael.