The Rage

So, let me start by saying the special fx are pretty good in this movie. No, not the low budget CGI, it was crappy as to be expected for what you got from low budget CGI at the time this movie was made. No, the actual made props and masks and what have you were all really pretty good.

It's also a real shame when a good, credited actor is stuck forced to be in a movie with other garbage actors. Andrew Divoff is a good credited actor, he did the wishmaster movies, or some of them at least, I can't remember if he did them all. Anywho, he did great as the main bad guy, the rest of them? I've seen high schoolers act in high school plays better than they did. Not one of them a saving grace and "Kat" was the worst. Especially when she was attacking or killing a monster and "going off" ranting while doing it. It was so fake and not believable, just awful.

If you can tolerate the bad acting and bad low budget CGI it's an ok watch for the SFX and blood and what have you. Up to you.

P. S. Oh, almost forgot, if you're a mushroomhead fan, then you're not allowed to skip it, sorry lol just watch and you'll see.

This flick was entertaining in all of its bad a good glory.

It's basically about a Russian scientist with his lab in the woods experimenting with a rage serum in which he infects his human test subjects. One of the infected gets out and dies in the woods where upon vultures feed on the corpse and get infected as well. So then of course teens leaving a rave party are left stranded in the woods and are attacked by the blood thirsty birds.

The acting was not the greatest at all, barely passable, but not distractingly horrible.

The CGI effect were also lacking, but again effective. Mainly the CGI was for the vultures, but a couple of awful looking explosions and one decapitated corpse spewing blood was thrown in.

Where this movie really shined was in the gore effects, which were fantastic. Not only that but tons of it is present here. Also, the flick didn't take itself seriously, so a good laugh can be found at times.

I should also mention that movies about killer avians really throw me off to the point of where I'd rather not even watch one, no matter how good they may be. Without spoiling anything I would just have to say give this one a try, you'll find more than your typical "killer birds" flick.

Overall I was impressed and entertained by this B movie gore fest.

When I rented Robert Kurtzman's The Rage, I relatively knew what I was getting into. The DVD box art and description on the back detailed the plot summary that seemed as familiar to someone like me that watches horror films as a favorite pair of slippers.

A mad scientist infects subjects with a virus that will induce rage. The human experiments go mad and morph into zombie flesh eating monsters. The contamination soon spreads outside of the laboratory when a bunch of vultures start to eat away at the rotting remains of one of the infected turning them into ravenous creatures in search of human prey.

These vultures take the spotlight for a good third of the film as they much and terrorize a group of partiers that are traveling in their RV through a dense forest. Unfortunately, it is also the weakest part of the film thanks to special effects that sometimes look CGI, sometimes look Frank Oz Muppets and sometimes look like a Ray Harryhausen nightmare. As these winged beasts of prey peck, prod and puncture their victims, you will be more prone to snicker than to scare.

When the birds are finally given a peaceful break, the remaining members of the troop find themselves in the abandoned farmhouse/laboratory where these creatures were resurrected. Unlucky for them, there are creatures around every corner (including a midget rage-induced man that I christened Mini-Rage as I poured myself another whiskey) and their survival looks about as bleak as Britney Spears' child custody case.

By the time The Rage finally came to a conclusion, I had sore cheekbones from the amount of times I yawned during the production. The premise was nothing new. The make-up effects looked like they just borrowed the rejects from The Hills Have Eyes 2 and the special effects in total were just plain awful in scenes. Although the film started off very promising with the battle between the scientist and his experiments, the segment was soon overshadowed by the ridiculousness of the dialogue the sixth-rate actors were given to work with. Too bad, for the film had all the elements to make it a better than average DVD pick up. The gore was definitely there with severed heads, intestines and ripped off limbs all being park of the directors Things-To-Do Checklist. But all the gore in the world couldn't save the film from falling into the pitfalls of providing us nothing new or interesting that would have us give the film a higher recommendation.

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If you are a fan of the more splatter-rich film experience, then THE RAGE is the perfect choice. It's filled with nearly nonstop gushy action, when a secret serum turns normal, law-abiding citizens into slobbering, gore-craving insaniacs!

THIS INCLUDES: #1- Flesh-devouring mutant maniacs! #2- Axes, hammers, and screwdrivers stuck in various craniums! #3- Mad-mad science! #4- Flocks of puppet / CGI turkey vultures! #5- A raving, raging Reggie Bannister!

Yep, this is a rip-roaring masterwork of messy mayhem...

A crazed Russian doctor (Andrew Divoff of Wishmaster) experiments with a deadly new virus that turns people (and birds) into bloodthirsty mutants gets in hot water when the virus gets loose and starts infecting those in the surrounding area creating havoc for a group of teens who were out partying at an outdoor Mushroomhead concert in the nearby woods. Woodenly acted from an awfully stupefying script. The movie quite knowingly seems to be a homage to '80's cult films (mainly Evil Dead & Re-animator), but lacks the wit to pull it off as a good movie itself, despite the presence of otherwise talented Divoff, Erin Brown, and Reggie Bannister (the latter in more or less a cameo). May be perfectly acceptable fodder for 2:15 AM after a night of bar-hopping, but watching it unintoxicated is not really recommended.

Eye Candy: Angela Gasparec gets topless

DVD Extras: Commentary by Director/Writer Robert Kurtzman and writer John Bisson; an 80-minute Making-of featurette; photo stills gallery; 2 music videos by Mushroomhead;and Trailers for "Trailer Park Boys: the movie" & "Big bad Wolf"