Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2013

Exceedingly unpleasant, humorless satire from Brandon Cronenberg, spawn of David, posits a near-future celebrity culture metastasized to a point where avid fans pay to be infected with viral souvenirs harvested from major celebs. Plot focuses on a technician/salesman (Caleb Landry Jones) in one such clinic who is methodically stealing his company’s copyrighted inventory by infecting himself with each new illness. Lots of needles piercing skin, and Jones spends a lot of time vomiting blood, so it would be redundant to call this stylish effort “sick.” Visually arresting, but ultimately aimless.