Antiviral 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Antiviral 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 25, 2025

Mad Magazine used to delight in movie parodies, of course, but they also had a funny piece at some point where they showed supposed "original" critic reviews of films, which were undeniably scabrous, but which had been "redacted" to sound like they were raves, and which then were shown in that form as pull quotes in ads for the film. It's one thing to "edit" a review to make it seem positive, it's another thing entirely to basically make up a pull quote, or at least misattribute it, and that seems to be something in play with Severin's new 4K UHD release of Antiviral. I was actually pleased to see a supposed pull quote from our site prominently featured on the back cover of this release, actually above a quote from the Los Angeles Times, and I actually contacted my colleague Casey Broadwater to let him know he was "famous". Well, in looking more closely at Casey's Antiviral Blu-ray review in preparation for writing this review, it turns out the pull quote Severin offers is not some weirdly redacted "positive" spin on Casey's frankly pretty mixed review, it is in no way, shape or form in Casey's review. In this case, however, it turns out Severin has actually accurately lifted some verbiage from my other colleague Brian Orndorf's review from the film's original theatrical exhibition, a review which is considerably more positive than Casey's.

Both of the reviews linked to above should easily satisfy anyone looking for plot information, and Casey's review further offers a list of supplements on the IFC 1080 release and his reaction to the IFC 1080 disc's technical presentation. I'm not quite as positive or negative about the film as either Brian or Casey, and my overall score reflects that personal opinion.

Antiviral 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

Antiviral is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Severin Films with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.78:1. I've had two rather distinctive looking and fascinatingly transferred releases in my queue this week, with Delicatessen 4K being the other one (see that review for some interesting technical information on that transfer process). In this particular instance, as Cronenberg and Hussain discuss in the really worthwhile if somewhat brief analysis of the restoration process, Antiviral was shot during a "transition" period between digital capture and old school celluloid, and as such there were actually two separate releases at the time of the film's original exhibition, with two at least somewhat different looking grades. The "purely digital" grade offered more extreme whites, while the "film" grade tended to be a bit more yellow (it was that grade that was offered on the previous 1080 release). As Cronenberg and Hussain get into, this presentation was scanned in 4K from the 35mm protection internegative. Aside from the fact that this new release offers a perhaps slightly incorrect aspect ratio, the look now is decidedly crisper in terms of those whites, with a really remarkable level of detail considering the intentional lack of suffusion and the perhaps unavoidable perception of a lack of contrast simply because so much white tends to pervade the frame so ubiquitously. Still, fine detail can be exceptional on any of the many close-ups, where Jones' near translucent skin can show everything from his freckles to slight flushing at times (something that's actually mentioned in the restoration featurette). HDR/ Dolby Vision certainly aids in delineating the many white to beige tones, which are already presented with appealing differentiation in Severin's 1080 version.

Antiviral 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Antiviral features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options. The surround track is about as hallucinatory as the visual side of things, and as Casey mentioned in his review of the IFC 1080 Blu-ray release, a lot of the unsettling surround activity comes courtesy of the pulsing washes E.C. Woodley's weird score often provides. There are haunting moments of discrete channelization offered as well in some of the spooky sound effects in the facility where people get their little "jabs" as well. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Antiviral 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentary with Writer / Director Brandon Cronenberg and Director of Photography Karim Hussain


• Trailer (HD; 1:54)

1080 Disc

• Audio Commentary with Writer / Director Brandon Cronenberg and Director of Photography Karim Hussain


• Broken Tulips (HD; 7:51) is the short film by Brandon Cronenberg that offers a "first version" of a similar scene in the film.


• Anatomy of a Virus (HD; 29:44) is an interesting making of featurette.


• Reviving a Dead Cell (HD; 8:50) is a really fascinating new piece with Cronenberg and Hussain discussing the restoration for this release.


• Brandon Cronenberg: A First Time Director's Vision (HD; 2:36) is a brief interview with Cronenberg, who really needs to learn to speak more clearly (an unsolicited piece of advice).


• Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Brandon Cronenberg and Karim Hussain (HD; 5:12)


• First Meeting with Actors Caleb Landry Jones and Sarah Gadon (HD; 2:22) is another brief piece showing the first scene they had together, along with some interstitial interviews with the pair.


• The Design of Antiviral (HD; 2:05) is a short interview with Production Designer Arvinder Greywal.


• Manufacturing Celebrity (HD; 2:02) is an EPK with the cast and crew.


• Trailer (HD; 1:54)

Antiviral 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If Cronenberg may kind of frustratingly swallow a lot of his words during the supplements offered on this disc (I kept wondering what the body horror film equivalent of "Sing out, Louise!" from Gypsy might be), he at least seems aware that Antiviral is not going to be everyone's cup of tea (and/or THC, as the case may be). This is an intentionally cold, antiseptic story that is nonetheless filled with unsettling imagery and ideas, some of which may actually be more relevant to our current nose swab zeitgeist than they were back when the film was released. Technical merits are first rate and the supplements are very appealing, for any brave souls out there who may be interested in making a purchase.