Rabid (1977) — Original UK Quad Poster
Format: UK Quad (30" x 40"), Folded, Single-Sided
Country: United Kingdom
Year: 1977
Style: First Release
Condition: Listed in Very Fine condition
A defining early work of body horror master David Cronenberg, this original 1977 UK Quad for Rabid represents one of the most chilling and thematically bold pieces of British theatrical marketing from the era. Released by Alpha Films for Cronenberg’s breakthrough infection-nightmare, this campaign captures the film’s unsettling collision of sexuality, mutation, and paranoia with stark, unforgettable intensity.
The poster centres on Marilyn Chambers—formerly an adult film icon, here reinvented as Cronenberg’s tragic vector of contagion—slumped in a clinical steel chamber, drenched in the sickly blue tones that became a hallmark of Cronenberg’s early aesthetic. The typography does the rest of the heavy lifting: the word RABID appears stamped in aggressive red, as though applied by an emergency medical task force already too late to contain the outbreak.
This quad is one of the director’s most desirable early posters, predating his mainstream rise with films like The Fly and Dead Ringers. Its mixture of exploitation-style sensationalism (“Pray it doesn’t happen to YOU!”) and genuinely unsettling medical horror imagery makes it an essential piece for Cronenberg completists and collectors of 1970s genre cinema.
Key Features
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Authentic first-release UK Quad, printed for the film's original 1977 theatrical run
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Striking image of Marilyn Chambers in a clinical containment cell
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Bold distressed “RABID” red stamp-style title treatment
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Produced by Ivan Reitman and Andre Link, marking a key moment in Canadian genre filmmaking
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Increasingly scarce poster for a major cornerstone of Cronenberg’s body-horror legacy
Collector Notes
The deep teal and charcoal palette is notoriously prone to showing folds and handling marks, making clean examples significantly harder to source. Interest in early Cronenberg continues to grow, placing genuine first-release UK Quads for Rabid firmly on the upward curve for long-term collectability.
Poster Freaks Guarantee
This Rabid UK Quad is 100% original theatrical posters—not a reproduction—archival stored and photographed in-house to ensure collectors know exactly what they’re getting.
