Rabid is actually one of my favourite concepts for a horror film. It blends elements of the Frankenstein myth (science going out of control and killing us) with vampirism and zombies. It's actually a movie I would be interested to see remade in a different style, because I think there would be so many ways to render this.

That's not to detract from Cronenberg’s film in any way. His bleak aesthetic and intense physical dread plays on our deepest physical insecurities (as usual) and his Rabid is a gloomy and existentially terrifying vision.

I saw this really young - I think I was only about 6: clearly not the appropriate age, but my older sister was obsessed with getting hold of R-rated movies and mum and dad sure as hell didn't know. I remember being somehow simultaneously terrified, shocked and bored - besides the obvious horror beats, the themes were just far too adult for me.

That put me off revisiting this movie for years and years, but I'm so glad I have because I would rate this as one of the best early Cronenberg movies and perhaps a little under-rated to this day, despite his now unassailable reputation as a true film artist.

"Yes, scissors. Now." Uuurrgh