Kalevet (2010) aka Rabies

Billed as Israel's first horror movie, Rabies, directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado is a refreshing take on the slasher film with some rather unique twists. A brother and sister, who are possibly in an incestuous relationship, run away from home and flee to the forest. The sister gets caught in a trap set by a serial killer, and the brother runs for help, bumping into a group of lost tennis players; two teenage guys and their "lady friends", one of whom has homosexual inclinations. Meanwhile the forest ranger and his fiancee have been told to look out for the missing siblings, so the ranger goes on the hunt to bring them home. Soon all of these characters paths will cross in increasing displays of operatic violence. The title is obvious, Rabies is a disease that turns people mad, deadly, violent. In the film, jealousy, hate, lust, and violence are like a disease unto themselves, once caught, it is only a matter of time. But what is unique about Rabies is how the horror is handled. The killer that the audience expects to be the villain never winds up killing anyone, and disappears for most of the movie. Rather, the deaths are tragic accidents, ones that could have been avoided, but accidents nonetheless. With films from this region, one always has to wonder if there is a deeper political message buried here. The killer calls Israel a "country full of shits" at the end, and the directors' portrait of their fellow Israelis is not a flattering one by any means, their Israel is a country full of greedy, selfish, corrupt, paranoid, and violent individuals who bring violence upon themselves through their exploitation of others. If this is intended to be a political message, Keshales and Papushado do not beat you over the head with it. The themes here are ultimately universal ones, and can be applied to any society, anywhere in the world. However, Rabies is not a totally successful film. More often than not it dips into cliche, and the ending is rather frustrating. Keshales and Papushado definitely have talent, and I am looking forward to seeing their new film, Big Bad Wolves, to see how they have matured as filmmakers since Rabies. Definitely voices to watch out for.