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Another rocking look at eXiStenZ
Soon, we'll all be able to witness Cronenberg's latest work of art, and I for one am as happy as can be about it. After watching Jennifer Jason Leigh in her first role, EYES OF A STRANGER, I can see she can handle herself quite well in a horror/style setting (even though it's allegedly a sci-fi film, I will think of it as a horror film till I see it). Enough of me... onto the review. Beware of SPOILERS though...
Long-time reader, first time poster. This will hopefully redress the
balance
on Existenz, which is looking to be my film of the year already.
(Starship
Troopers took the disco-biscuit for 1998, just so you know where I'm
at).
You can call me Sonic Mork.
--------
OK, Existenz has been drawing predictably mixed responses from those
blessed
enough to catch preview screenings. So as a long-time Cronenberg fan
and a
life-long gamer, I thought it was important to point out that
Existenz rocks
- hard.
Our Dave's getting back to his roots here, and the good news is
they're
still writhing, slimy and tentacular. It's interesting that this is
his
first original screenplay for a while, as it does, to be fair, lack
the
depth of some of his greatest achievements. Videodrome has become an
inescapable reality - its murky cable world clearly one Cronenberg
was
familiar with. Existenz occasionally feels like a vision of the
gaming
future from back when VR was going to be the next big thing. That
said,
anyone who's eavesdropped on a conversation between Zelda disciples
will
appreciate that you don't need something plugged directly into your
nervous
system - as the fleshy Nintendo controllers with nipples of Existenz
are -
for a blissfully absorbing gaming experience. The awkward interaction
between humans and non-player characters and the apparently illogical
jumps
between scenes are actually pretty accurate representations of how an
adventure game might translate into neuron-reality.
Plot wise, it's a typically convoluted affair, with agents and double
agents
of rival game corps and reality terrorists all battling it out for
supremacy
within Existenz, chasing its designer Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason
Leigh)
and her innocent protector Pikel (Jude Law). It all snaps together
with its
own internal logic, so that by the end you feel like you've just been
submerged in a strange dream world of somebody else's making. This, I
imagine, is what a couple of hours immersed in Existenz would feel
like, and
presumably this is Cronenberg's intention.
The deeper in we get, the stranger it becomes, eventually feeling
like an
extension of Interzone from Naked Lunch (the film version). There are
some
truly bizarre moments here that I don't want to spoil for anyone, but
if the
thought of vats full of bizarre, squirming, mutant amphibians and
weapons
made from animal and human parts gets you wet, you're going to love
this.
The film also looks gorgeous. The use of colours in the game world
giving it
a brilliantly hyper-real feel. Booted back out onto the streets of
London,
it took a good few minutes to reassemble reality into its constituent
parts.
The acting has come in for criticism from some folks, but again,
within the
context of Existenz it makes sense. Leigh and Law's low-key approach
(which
feels like pantomime after Crash) contrasts nicely with the OTT
behaviours
of Willem Dafoe and Ian Holm, amongst other nice cameos. Some of the
dialogue is genuinely funny in places: "I have this phobia about
being
penetrated - surgically." & "It's not a bug, it's a frog, salamander,
lizard
thing." (Well, I thought they were funny).
I think Existenz could be a real sleeper, unfortunately most likely
on
video, as I expect the distributors will have real problems working
out how
to market it. It's certain to appeal to old-school Cronenberg fans,
horror
freaks, gamers and other seekers-after-weirdness, but may just
confuse
everyone else. It won't leave you shaking and dysfunctional like
Videodrome
or Dead Ringers, but you'll come out consumed by an overwhelming
sense of
coolness and the urge to jump straight back in and see it again. Long
live
the new fish - or is it a salamander?
-
+ Expand All
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I think that Cronenberg's early movies like Rabid, the Brood and Scanners are some of the creepiest, most grotesque and twisted horror movies out there. His depictions of the physical manifestations of human emotion have always been very scary. Lately, his movies have been more entertaining in a twisted camp sense than horrific. Anyone who saw a preview, Is this movie going to be a horror movie or just eccentric? Not that camp is bad, I got just as many belly laughs from Starship Troopers as Something About Mary.
-
I wasn't shaking after I saw 'Dead Ringers,' I was actually thoroughly disappointed. However, the gynecological tools for use on mutant women were a nice touch. For me, 'Naked Lunch' is the definitive Cronenberg film, and if this flick even approaches the coolness of that film, I'll be happy.
-
When is it coming out? Anyone know? Do I add it to the films of 1999 list or is it gonna be a 2000 movie?
-
...is the release date. But who knows, really.
-
A few cool parts doesn't make this movie good. I saw a test screening. I really like Cronenberg. It was bad. It made me long for Naked Lunch a bit. Very disapointing. I can't imagine what they will do to pull this final cut together other than reshooting...a lot. Sorry.
-
I just adore Cronenberg. I think Videodrome and Dead Ringers are two of the best films of all times. But seeing the images of "eXistenz" makes me wonder: is it a remake of "Videodrome"? It seems so similar. I think it would be a big mistake for David doing it again. And what
-
Sounds weird and totally unexciting. So, does that mean
Depp is in it? Out -
Cronenberg was the topic of my senior film thesis. From the beginning I've enjoyed his "I don't give a shit what you think" attitude, especially with the subjects he's chosen to tackle. He chooses stories which are balancing on the cusp of documentary and fiction, guaranteed to have freaky Cronenberg goodies inside the mix. Behind the visual madness, however, lies a sane man who understands his mission as an artist and the boundaries, or lack there of, that exist.
-
I'm 19 now, freaky aint it?
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