The Rage (2023) a.k.a. Rabies (2023)

The Rage (2023) also known as Rabies (2023) What a surprise this Russian thriller was!

A rabies epidemic breaks out in the Russian taiga. The bite of an infected wolf results in certain death. That’s the moment Igor chooses to isolate his son Vovka (no, not Vodka!), a drug addict, in a hunting hut: he wants to help him wean himself off drugs to get out of the hell of drugs. A rabid pack approaches…

Russian thriller directed by Dmitri Diatchenko, written by Alexey Kazakov. The script is based on the true story of the rabies epidemic that spread among wild animals in the Amur Oblast in 2019.

The film is produced by Hype Film and Backup Copy with support from the Cinema Fund. Hype Film was founded in 2011 by Murad Osmann and Ilya Stewart, and the director is Dmitri Diatchenko, known for the film trilogy The Last Knight and the 2023 film Cheburashka.

Principal photography began in January 2021 in Moscow and in December 2020 in the Altai Republic, where a winter hut was specially built. Filming took place in severe frost conditions. The wolves (who had already appeared in Game of Thrones) were brought from Hungary especially for the shoot. Some of the outdoor scenes were shot in Kamchatka, and later on everything else was shot in the studio.

A depressing feature film. You can smell the cold. Everything is dirty and messy everywhere. People are poor. And the animals have become killers.

You feel the love of a desperate father for his drug-addicted son. At the same time, we feel the ravages of drugs and the problems that go with them: withdrawal, aggression, lies.

Surprisingly, this film, made after the invasion of Ukraine, still ended up in France. It’s a film that lives up to the genre’s canons, namely people lost in the middle of nowhere attacked by rabid wolves – and even a bear. It’s a pretty good watch. The only thing to complain about or discover is the very Soviet and Putin-like discourse on drugs.

The anti-American film crowd will obviously say that this film has nothing to envy from Hollywood films! But I don’t think there are any more films that take their inspiration from them. I watched this film more out of curiosity than anything else, not expecting much, but I was rather surprised. Admittedly, the film isn’t very original and it’s easy to see what’s going to happen, but for an unknown film from Russia, it didn’t fall short in my eyes.

Well, the film isn’t bad, but it’s not incredible and the effects aren’t always up to scratch. The computer-generated images are very poorly done and… what can I say about that bear! Unfortunately, yes, there are some pretty pathetic scenes. What a shame!

If you love wolves, this survival game is not for you! Don’t unwrap it with too much enthusiasm, because you’re going to be terribly bored. The beginning is a little long, then finally the story of the drug-addicted son gets going and you think you’re in for a good time, but… in fact… no, not so much!

I don’t mind the fact that the wolf attacks are too repetitive, but there are plenty of moments where you can get really bored. It’s not the most effective thing there is. It all depends on whether you were going for a drama or an action film, because that changes everything!

For me, the actors are complete unknowns given that the film is Russian, but they play quite well, especially the young drug addict.

The soundtrack is decent. Nothing to report on that score.

To conclude: A solid plot and a good dose of suspense and tension. The 3D animals aren’t perfect all the time, but they still work. I was hooked and it kept me on the edge of my seat right to the end. There’s a good dose of violence and blood, and that’s perfectly normal for this kind of situation. I wouldn’t say this film is nice, but it’s definitely creepy.

It’s up to you to see it… or not!