Antiviral
A clinic courier carrying a celebrity’s lethal virus through his own body hunts for answers in a society where fame, disease, and fandom have become one grotesque commodity.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- clinical
- paranoid
- grotesque
- late night horror viewing
- double feature with body horror
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's polished craft, provocative biopunk ideas, and gruesome body horror while finding its characters and pacing underdeveloped.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The clinic sells live viruses harvested from famous people to devoted consumers, turning celebrity bodies into commercial goods.
Syd smuggles viruses through his own body and becomes infected with Hannah Geist's fatal disease, making illness both contraband and currency.
The film foregrounds blood, mucus, pus, injections, infection, and physical deterioration as disturbing material details.
The clinic-centered world uses polished medical spaces and restrained production design to contrast with its grotesque biological commerce.
Films like Antiviral, and why
Videodrome
shared body horror, biopunk science fiction, and satirical unease about technology and commodified bodies
eXistenZ
shared clinical body horror, grotesque transformation, and cold technological alienation
The Brood
shared dystopian celebrity culture, visceral mutation, and unsettling social satire
Gattaca
shared paranoia thriller structure, corporate control, and bleak near-future science fiction
Movie Details
- Director
- Brandon Cronenberg
- Release Date
- 2012-09-19
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (465)
Cast
- Caleb Landry Jones
- Sarah Gadon
- Malcolm McDowell
- Joe Pingue
- Sheila McCarthy
- Douglas Smith
- Wendy Crewson
- Nicholas Campbell
- James Cade
- Dawn Greenhalgh
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Antiviral about?
- A clinic courier carrying a celebrity’s lethal virus through his own body hunts for answers in a society where fame, disease, and fandom have become one grotesque commodity.
- What is Antiviral like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Antiviral as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Antiviral violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Antiviral as graphic.
- What did critics think of Antiviral?
- Critics broadly praised the film's polished craft, provocative biopunk ideas, and gruesome body horror while finding its characters and pacing underdeveloped.
- Which films are like Antiviral?
- Films with a similar feel include Videodrome, eXistenZ, The Brood, and Gattaca.
- How long is Antiviral?
- Antiviral runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch Antiviral?
- In United States, Antiviral streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now.
