eXistenZ (1999)
Dir. David Cronenberg
It has a lot in common with Videodrome (1983), not just thematically, but in other ways, and as such I'd definitely recommend a thorough viewing of Videodrome before sitting down to eXistenZ.
It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as a VR video game designer named Allegra Geller. A player of Allegra's games experiences a different reality, literally. They become a character in the game.
Players of eXistenZ aren't sat in front of a screen or fed imagery through a lens in a headset, through biotechnology they're inserted into a functioning three-dimensional world that's as real to them as the one we collectively call reality.
It's a concept that many of us will be familiar with nowadays thanks to the success of The Matrix (1999), but Cronenberg's VR world is less digital and more analogue; it's got one toe dipping into unseen epistemological waters while the other foot kicks around concepts of solipsism.
If you expect to find something intriguing but sickening, you'll not be disappointed. The rubbery foetus-like VR 'game pods' that deliver the information to the player do so by means of a cable that's basically an umbilical cord that plugs into what resembles a bizarre anus embedded in the player's lower back - it's unsettling, to say the least, and presented to the viewer as something oddly sexual. It really makes me shudder. Further to that, any hole that leads directly into the body ought to be kept clean to avoid disease or infection - surely a kind of 'body-horror' itself.
Players of eXistenZ aren't sat in front of a screen or fed imagery through a lens in a headset, through biotechnology they're inserted into a functioning three-dimensional world that's as real to them as the one we collectively call reality.
It's a concept that many of us will be familiar with nowadays thanks to the success of The Matrix (1999), but Cronenberg's VR world is less digital and more analogue; it's got one toe dipping into unseen epistemological waters while the other foot kicks around concepts of solipsism.
If you expect to find something intriguing but sickening, you'll not be disappointed. The rubbery foetus-like VR 'game pods' that deliver the information to the player do so by means of a cable that's basically an umbilical cord that plugs into what resembles a bizarre anus embedded in the player's lower back - it's unsettling, to say the least, and presented to the viewer as something oddly sexual. It really makes me shudder. Further to that, any hole that leads directly into the body ought to be kept clean to avoid disease or infection - surely a kind of 'body-horror' itself.
Accompanying Allegra in the unpredictably dangerous game-world is security guard Ted Pikul (Jude Law), a bit of a wet blanket who isn't the most willing participant - he'd certainly not be her companion of choice if her situation wasn't so dire. Mine either, I'd not class myself as a fan of Jude Law's acting skill, but he kind of suits the role of Pikul, so credit where it's due.
There are twists and turns along the way, some predictable and some not, but mostly it keeps up the ick factor well, arguably more successfully than the philosophical aspects. Even though it's a narrative that's far from straightforward, it's never too bloated, confusing or cryptic, so even casual viewers might enjoy it. Of course, it'll be best appreciated by fans of the director.
Music is by Cronenberg regular Howard Shore, which is once again a successful pairing.
There are twists and turns along the way, some predictable and some not, but mostly it keeps up the ick factor well, arguably more successfully than the philosophical aspects. Even though it's a narrative that's far from straightforward, it's never too bloated, confusing or cryptic, so even casual viewers might enjoy it. Of course, it'll be best appreciated by fans of the director.
Music is by Cronenberg regular Howard Shore, which is once again a successful pairing.
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