"Antiviral"?

[Anonymouse]

I was browsing Netflix the other day when I came across this movie. The description both piqued my interested and creeped me out enough to quickly navigate away to another movie.

This wild sci-fi vision imagines a freaky future where diseases caught by celebrities are put on the market for injection by their obsessed fans. Virus dealer Syd March makes a big mistake when he gives himself the same bug that killed a superstar.

I kind of want to watch it because I like freaking myself out occasionally and the concept intrigues me, but contagion movies make me nervous. I was googling to see if there would be sneezing in it and I found this:

A lively and virtually pause-free commentary that bristles with information about the shooting of the film, with particular focus on the visuals – Cronenberg wanted the image to look like a cross between a visit to the doctor and a fashion shoot – the locations, the effects, and the work of lead actor Caleb Landry Jones. Some of the biggest surprises concern the use or unexpected absence of CGI – seemingly live shot cityscapes were actually composited, but the distorted facial imagery on the ReadyFace consoles were created by shooting live on a domestic camera and holding a plastic magnifying glass in front of the lens. I was particularly intrigued to hear about the sneeze fetish forum that the filmmakers discovered in the course of their research, one that prompted the inclusion of a slow-motion sneeze to reward forum users who were disappointed at the lack of sneezes in Contagion. I'm not making this up.

Okay, so it has a slow-motion sneeze (put there for us specifically, no less!) - but from who, and is it disgusting? I don't think I've ever seen a slow-motion sneeze that I've liked.

Basically I would like to know if anyone here has seen the movie so they can fill me in on what to expect. If any brave souls would like to watch it on my behalf and report back I would be most appreciative.

[Garnet]

I'm going to draw for a bit and usually put something on Netflix on in the background for "company" so I will check this out and report back with my findings :|

That specific inclusion kind of weirds me out, though.

[Anonymouse]

Oh Jesus I wasn't 100% serious with that last request. Don't do it if it freaks you out.

I tried to find out more about that "image" but there was nothing to be found, so idk. I'm also slightly deterred by the inclusion of every other possible bodily fluid. And the coughing from the trailer put my nerves on edge.

Buuuut the photography looks really awesome and I've been reading that Caleb gives a stellar performance. He also looks really good all feverish and delirious so that's tempting too.

I'll just wait and see what you have to say if you go through with it.

[Garnet]

Oh no I don't mean any of the bodily sickness stuff squicks me, haha, I guess I'm just more... antagonized than grateful that they put in a scene specifically "for" the fetishists. I don't know why that vexes me, maybe because it feels like being outed/patronized.

The main character is pretty attractive, however, if a shitty actor, so if he's the one doing the gross sneezing, I am all for it :q

[SterlingSilver]

Q______Q... I read the plot synopsis, and it looks a little too intense for me xD. I sort of wish I hadn't read it..

But the bit about us personally is.. well, I'm unsure. It's somehow invading-.. I don't know.

And yes, Garnet~! You're such a dear to take one for the team and let us know if the sneeze was worth it x'DDD

Thanks in advance <3

[Anonymouse]

I guess I'm just more... antagonized than grateful that they put in a scene specifically "for" the fetishists. I don't know why that vexes me, maybe because it feels like being outed/patronized.

Oh no yeah, I felt the same way. Like they expect us to be jumping for joy over a slow-mo messy-ass sneeze.

If there is a sneeze I'm kind of hoping it's from him. Anything else will just make me rage/cry/become a hermit for a week.

[Garnet]

Well there's been one so far from a woman in an advertisement. It was slow motion but it also looked pretty fake, and it was overexposed so there's no visible grossness. If that's the one they were talking about it was pretty underwhelming and brief. I will let you know if anything else crops up.

[Paul]

If anyone finds anything can they post the link?

[Dusty15]

My goodness...I just watched the trailer. YIKES! Looks really disturbing. The coughing sound from the trailer is okay, but it's clearly TB or something similar they have and all those sores and blood...BLEH!

You're a brave one, Garnet Let us know how it is! The idea is intriguing and if I was into SciFi/Horror films, I'd maybe watch it, but it looks a bit too 'Horror' for me.

[Vongola Undicesimo]

I'm officially freaked out now. And I LIKE horror movies.

[Jorm]

I just watched the trailer and, no. No fucking way. Anything that involves coughing up blood freaks me waaaay out. So thanks, but no thanks, I'll pass. *shudder*

[alias]

Ew. Ewewewewewew.

I watched the trailer and found myself cringing. Nooooooo thank you, I'll pass on this one.

I'm with the general consensus on the slow-motion sneeze put in there for us. The idea vexes me a bit too. Not in a way that makes me want to jump out of my chair offended, but it does feel a bit like they're poking fun at us.

[Garnet]

Alright, time for Garnet's movie review!

... don't bother. No, seriously :| I actually really liked the concept of the movie and the cinematography, the world-building of a culture so consumed with celebrities that they'll pay to be infected with their diseases and eat cuts of meat grown from their cell cultures (yes, really) is beautifully freaky, but otherwise it's a pretty underwhelming and dull movie. Plot meanders a lot. Main guy is a freckled ginger dish, but he's a pretty terrible actor and except for a few good woozy/feverish scenes and a super uncomfortable looking nasal swab, most of it is just stumbling around and coughing up blood. Same for the female celebrity.

As for the actual fetish content, uh... thanks a lot, filmmakers? It was the one I mentioned above. It's an advertisement played in the background, so no sound, no mess, looks sort of fake to me? My female sneezing tastes are wildly specific so it does exactly nothing for me, but if you want to check it out, it's about 11:30-12:00 minutes into the film. You can look it up on Netflix if you have an account, it's streaming.

[darkness-is-the-light]

You are one brave person Garnet, you get kudo's for that in my book.

[Anonymouse]

Oh man, I'm actually kind of bummed out to hear you didn't like it. :C I'll still probably give it a shot sometime if I get really bored.

Thanks for watching it for me/us! Kind of stupid that they think they threw a bone to us with that sneeze but it sounds like it's not even a prominent part of the film.

[NameTaken]

I love how they think it's like the dream movie for us dirty fetishists to get our rocks off but it seems that we're either completely uninterested or the complete opposite from aroused.

Nice job, Mr Director

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Slightly off topic, but I wonder why everyone who expressed an opinion on it seems so vexed/upset at the notion someone included something purely for us.

From Garnets brave synopsis it does look like something that'd give me nightmares, so I won't watch it, not even to appreciate their effort.

But, if for example the team of Doctor Who would stumble upon this forum and instead of going "that is so weird", actually include something they think some of us would enjoy, I would be besides myself with joy rather than annoyed. I hope this comes across okay, am not trying to lecture, just was wondering why the idea seemed so repulsive.

[Anonymouse]

But, if for example the team of Doctor Who would stumble upon this forum and instead of going "that is so weird", actually include something they think some of us would enjoy, I would be besides myself with joy rather than annoyed. I hope this comes across okay, am not trying to lecture, just was wondering why the idea seemed so repulsive.

I think it's because we felt it was a bit presumptuous of the director to add something he thought we would be interested in, when in reality our community is very diverse in its likes and dislikes. I also think a lot of people are unnerved by the idea of a non-fetishist probing around the forum for their research and then referring to us in an interview. I'm okay with it, people can do whatever they want, but it does feel a little invasive and it makes me uncomfortable, personally, to think about how a non-fetishist would interpret the things we say and do on here.

Like I guess it was... thoughtful of him, in a weird way, and the man can't be blamed for not knowing that some of us would be uncomfortable having attention drawn to the forum. And honestly I doubt many people even read that interview so I don't think we're in danger of being "outed," so to speak.

I also feel that some, if not a lot, of people on this forum tend to dislike movies like this and "Contagion" because the diseases they focus on are kind of scary and it can take the fun out of sneezing. (I do know there are people here though that like the idea of highly infectious diseases and mass contagion.) If I want to see sneezing in a movie, I don't want it to be in a movie like this, where people are dying from their illnesses. I was relieved, not outraged, by the lack of sneezing in "Contagion."

[TheCakeIsAlive]

That makes sense, thank you for explaining. I remember there being a thread about the movie "contagion" back in the day and that some people were excited to see whether there was going to be sneezing in it and I assumed the director was referring to that in the interview (but you are right, also a large number of people hoping there wouldn't be).

Sneezing as a symptom of a fatal illness also squicks me out though.

[Anonymouse]

I watched the first half at the gym today. I had to, because for some reason not knowing what it was all about was giving me anxiety. I'll watch the rest tomorrow. So far I like it! It's not terrible but it's not fantastic either, and nothing happened to completely gross me out yet (except the sounds when he was eating the cell steak, but I generally hate the sound of people chewing meat in general). Caleb isn't the greatest actor but he does the feverishly-stumbling-around scenes really well.

I read that it kind of goes downhill in the second half so I won't expect too much. I usually go into these kinds of things with low expectations. I'm very easy to please, which I guess can be a good thing.

[Sitruuna]

You guys make me feel a little bad. ;_;

I mean... Sure, what they included there isn't everyone's dream scenario but they still did it. Hasn't anyone heard that it's the thought that counts? ;_;

Anyway, this actually sounds rather interesting. lol

In some maybe not so fetishy way.

[Dye]

That's... very thoughtful of them for throwing that in for us. Lovely gesture, really.

(i didn't like Contagion either. ;^; death movies nooooo)

[murphy dee]

I mayyyyyy check this out. I noticed it on Netflix the other day and was curious. I do love a good stumbling-around-while-feverish scene, so it went in the ol' instant queue.

[Anonymouse]

For those of you who are interested, the fake female sneeze is in this scene.

It is preceded by a shot of the lanky red-headed antihero with a thermometer in his mouth.

[murphy dee]

It is preceded by a shot of the lanky red-headed antihero with a thermometer in his mouth. Posted Image

Ohhhhhh yes. Mmm I am all about that.