Rubén Guevara in 'Infection'.

A devastating epidemic spreads rapidly through the country of Venezuela as people are infected by a mutated rabies virus that turns them into raging zombies when bitten. Dr Adam Vargas, played by Rubén Guevara, (also seen in 12/12/12 (2012), has been asked to ‘report to base’ to help solve the crisis, but he and his neighbour Johnny, Leonidas Urbina, from Netflix’s ‘Bolívar’ (2019), have to flee for their lives, even from Johnny’s infected wife.

Dr Vargas’s wife has recently died from cancer and he has been trying to bring up his son Miguelito (Luca de Lima)  on his own. During a holiday break in the countryside, while Miguelito is with his grandparents in their country house, the mutated rabies epidemic starts to spread like wildfire across the nation, leaving few areas unaffected.

Rubén Guevara , Leonidas Urbina and Magdiel González 

Despite the dangers, Dr Vargas decides he must reach his parent’s isolated country home to rescue his son. Accompanied by his friend Johnny and others in a similar plight, they struggle to reach  some kind of safety, avoiding the sick and trying to avoid being shot by suspicious police into the bargain.

Forget your usual slow-moving zombies, these are really the fastest zombies I have ever seen!  The infected people race around screaming  and grunting, tearing non- infected people apart, attacking vehicles and breaking into people’s homes with the slightest sound setting them off. It was very appropriately placed in the “Screamdance” strand of the Raindance Film Festival! Be prepared for some heart stopping moments.

Yet, this is not an overly gory film, Pedota’s technique is to leave something to the imagination as he    accentuates the human elements and perhaps almost too overtly, uses the epidemic as an allegory for the current situation in Venezuela. The Doctor is seen walking along the desolate, body-strewn streets of a derelict town, past the remains of a huge billboard behind him that extols the marvels of the Chávez Revolution, reading: “An achievement of the Bolivarian Revolution”, while a cadaver lies beneath it. All revolutions in history have led to dictatorships, some more cruel and disturbing than others. As Dr Vargas and Johnny make their way, the voice of the current president Nicolás Maduro is heard on a radio, and anti- Maduro graffiti is visible on the walls.

This film charters the fearsome journey of Dr Vargas and other, still uninfected, people that they come across, as they fight their way through streets, towns and forests, using what vehicles they can, never knowing what awaits them.  The film was helped by the quality of the supporting talents. For instance, the camerawork of Eduardo Servello, the Post-Production, the Music, the Make- Up (Ronald Faramalla) and the Sound Design (Ricardo Arteaga and Oscar Victoria) all clearly carefully managed and fine-tuned. Director Flavio Pedota has been working on films since he was 17 years of age, having studied Social Communications in Venezuela, Film Direction at the New York Film Academy and Actor Direction at TVI in Los Angeles. This is his very first feature and judging by the reception to this film, we will be seeing more from this talented director.

Be careful not to miss the interesting post- epidemic interviews that are interlaced with the end credits!

INFECTION 2019 was screened at the Raindance Film Festival 2019 (Venezuela/Mexico)

Production company                    Luz Creativa Productions/ Desenlace Films

Director              Flavio Pedota

Writer                 Flavio Pedota and Yeimar Cabra;             

Production         David Ferreira/ Santiago Ortíz-Monasterio / Flavio Pedota

DOP                     Eduardo Servello

Editor                  William Pacheco

Music                  Blake Matthew

Make-up            Ronald Faramella

Sound                 Ricardo Arteage and Oscar Victoria

Cast:                    Rubén Guevara, Leonídas Urbina, Magdiel González. Genna Chanella Hayes, Luca de Lima.