Right from the start this movie tells you what it is. And it ain’t too shy and squeamish about it. We see severed heads, brains, and other body parts in a laboratory. Surely, the next thing that’s going to appear is a mad scientist, I’m thinking. And, of course, he does. The Rage is a gleefully gory and cheesy zombie horror movie about a crazy doctor experimenting in a remote cabin in the woods. When one of his experiments escapes and starts feeling the need for flesh, our poor doctor will be in a lot of trouble. You can expect a lot of bad CGI, bad acting, and bad dialogue but also a lot of fun if you’re into this sort of thing.
At first, I thought that The Rage belongs to the movies so bad that they’re good category. However, considering the atmosphere and a couple of other things, I decided to place both in that and in the horror category. The practical effects along with make-up were excellent. Something that should come as no surprise as the director is Robert Kurtzman. He’s worked on a lot of major productions like From Dusk Till Dawn, Vampires, and Cabin Fever. This isn’t his first rodeo when it comes to directing too. 1997”s Wishmaster, is a much more competent and likable movie. And it’s quite underrated so be sure to check it out.
Oddly enough, that was my first movie featuring Andrew Divoff, now a horror legend. The man was born to play these roles with the looks of a much more evil scientist than the one in Re-Animator for example. The Rage features a lot of bizarre and quite graphic scenes. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you that Dr. Viktor Vasilienko was working on a special virus that can turn anything alive into a zombie. So, you can expect to see all kinds of killer animals too. I’m not going to tell you which ones as I want you to be just as surprised as I was when I saw them.
And just in case you weren’t sure this is a 2000s movie we have Mushroomhead, one of the more popular nu-metal bands of that time. They also shot two of their videos during the production of this movie. And you know what goes best with nu-metal bands? Yes, you are correct, stupid college kids are right here, waiting to be killed in the most gruesome ways. Moreover, not only their dialogue is bad but their delivery is as well. At one point, I wasn’t sure if they were intentionally acting that way or if they were simply bad. However, none of that matters if you’re here to have some gory fun.
That’s what this movie is all about, unadulterated, bloody, and depraved fun. I’m sure that the horror movie fans are going to love it. They might even convince some of their “normal” friends to check out this oddity featuring metal bands, zombies, and college kids. The old school practical effects are a bonus as they highlight all the CGI’s flaws. Cheap CGI flaws, to be perfectly honest. The special effects here are just one notch above the ones we see in SyFy productions like Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus.
Just get through that section of the movie and you will be fine. The rest of it looks deliciously bloody. And everything is topped off with one hell of a final battle. So, if you’re willing to go through some difficult sections, you will get your macabre and bloody reward.
Director: Robert Kurtzman
Writers: John Bisson, Robert Kurtzman
Cast: Andrew Divoff, Misty Mundae, Ryan Hooks, Christopher Allen Nelson, Reggie Bannister
Fun Facts: Robert Kurtzman got the idea for it after a visit to a museum. While there, he saw a display of a certain animal that caught his attention and he just went from there.
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497432/
