Analysis of David Cronenberg's 1999 eXistenZ film...

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:47 pm

Last night, for the first time, I finally got to watch David Cronenberg's eXistenZ. It was released theatrical in the USA back in 1999.

After watching it once, I can see some striking similarities and recurring themes between both Cronenberg's earlier sci-fi/horror film of Videodrome (circa 1983) and eXistenZ:

The main weapon in both films is this bio-morphic gun theme...

How Cronenberg gives a subtle nod to Jennifer Jason Leigh's earlier starring role in the Black Plague themed film of "Flesh & Bone" when describing this so-called "weirdo gun" featured in eXistenZ...

How the these "Game Ports" use a combination of organic animal parts and (I'd have to assume) special organic software interface to make it work...very highly advanced exotic and estoric bio-morphic themed technology shown here.

The explanation that the participant of eXistenZ is the one whom powers up the actual Game Pod hardware interface...

How the Game Pod's semi-transparent Umbicord wired interface looks like a real umblical cord -- cut them both and they both bleed easily...

How Cronenberg uses a bit of eroticism when Allegra slowly licks her protector's Bio-Port and in another scene, proceeds to stick her moistened finger into another Bio-Port -- reminds me of the eroticism shown in Videodrome...

When the eXistenZ players are playing through the virtual world, the movie viewer slowly realizes that he or she watching "a virtual game universe being played inside another virtual world"...

Towards the eventual conclusion of eXistence, the real VR hardware looks strongly like the SQUID web-like apparatus (in short for: Super Quantam User Interface Device) from the 1995 Strange Days virtual reality film...

I like how the special effects are more elaborate and such on a grand scale in the presentation of using such havested animal parts to construct such "living" Game Pods hardware in the fishing harvesting factory...

How there are rival virtual reality software corporations wanting each other's employees for their own personal gain through the use of force...

Pretty trippy film indeed with Cronenberg's trademarked aesthetics and overall vision of the world of virtual reality... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

it290 · Post by **it290** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:18 pm

One of his better films. On some level the whole thing is kind of a nod to Philip K. Dick (see: Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, The Man in The High Castle). Techno-erotic fetishism is nothing new for Cronenberg. Even Rabid, one of his early movies, features a ravenous armpit penis-vagina.

Best scene in the movie is undoubtedly the Chinese restaurant scene... actually in my opinion it's one of the best surreal scenes ever, rivaled only by the Cowboy scene in Mulholland Drive.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:40 pm

It runs slightly out of steam at the end, but I like the film very much.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:43 pm

There is another very early work of David Cronenberg's 1975 sci-fi/horror film called "The Shivers" that has humans giving birth to big ugly slug-like parasites that give off a side-condition that makes their host-parent want to fuck like mad either straight or homo style...

It's some crazy shit/parody if you were to ask me... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:52 pm

Thanks for bringing up Cronenberg...there were some films I needed to add to my cue I'd forgotten about.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:02 pm

CMoon wrote:Thanks for bringing up Cronenberg...there were some films I needed to add to my cue I'd forgotten about.

For CMoon,

Your welcome. It's always nice to expand your film viewing/knowledge horizon a bit more by viewing a film director's back catalog of his or her earlier films..... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

it290 · Post by **it290** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:43 pm

What does everyone think of his new direction? Personally I liked History of Violence and Eastern Promises very much, Spider less so. I wonder if he will keep making crime/suspense movies or do something different.

IMO, Dead Ringers may well be the finest suspense/horror film ever made. That movie is so damn good it's not even funny.

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:52 pm

Ah, eXistenZ (or however you spell it) was awesome. I always thought that the whole thing was a massive critique of the storytelling tradition when it is exposed to new media. In a videogame you create your own story to some extent, and the endless loops and rabbit holes that populate this film forces the viewer to do largely the same. In essence, I think it is one of the most succesful examples of a film implicating a viewer into the film, making it in turn one of the most succesful examples of post modern film making practices.

There's lots more to love though: The nerdy TV movie presentational style (which certainly lulled me into a false sense of apathy towards the film before it was turned onto its head time and time again), the squelchy gore, Howard Shore's rousing score, and some of the best realised surrealist sequences since Bunuel laterwork.

My girlfriend thinks it's shit. Awesome.

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:29 pm

eXistenZ really didn't grab me. Its depiction of a virtual world felt dated and unconvincing the moment it came out. By contrast, I still find Videodrome to be Cronnenberg's most thematically engaging film. While the fact that the film uses VHS as the medium of its black magic has dated it, the deeper themes at work are more relevant than ever today. To me, the film is saying that when you seclude yourself in a space where you only have the experiences you choose and allow yourself to be dictated to, you're on the path to becoming the tool of extremists. On a less melodramatic level it says that focusing on the abnormal to the point of obsession warps your perception of reality. There are any number of forums and communities on the internet that prove how true that idea is.

doctorx0079 · Post by **doctorx0079** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:51 pm

I hated this movie. It seemed like the director was just trying to make me nauseous, what with the sickly living things and people eating gross stuff and everything. A bunch of pointless wandering, things happen for no apparent reason, and a dumb twist ending. Bah.

Maybe I shouldn't post this in an "I love Cronenberg" thread. Oh well. Just saw The Forbidden Kingdom. Now that's my kind of movie. I'm a philistine, what can I say?

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:33 pm

I'm glad "Shivers" got mentioned. It was Cronenberg's first feature film, and kind of like David Lynch's Eraserhead, in some ways he never really topped it. David Lynch is probably one of my favorite directors, and while I don't appreciate Cronenberg's work in exactly the same way, I like to think he's somewhere in the middle of a venn diagram of Lynch and John Carpenter. Never too sterile but never too shameless either.

The library is where I checked out most of Cronenberg's films, stuff like Videodrome, Naked Lunch, and Shivers. Had the pleasure of seeing A History of Violence in theatres upon release. I laughed so hard at that scene near the end, if you've seen it you probably know the one. I felt silly laughing so hard when the only other laugh in the crowd was a faint chuckle.

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:58 pm

szycag wrote: Had the pleasure of seeing A History of Violence in theatres upon release. I laughed so hard at that scene near the end, if you've seen it you probably know the one. I felt silly laughing so hard when the only other laugh in the crowd was a faint chuckle.

When I saw that one there was some guy in the audience making really ridiculous noises whenever something happened. The best was when some guy picked up a gun, and he yelled "Uouwhuouhgh!" Then when something actually happened he decided to be silent.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:05 pm

doctorx0079 wrote:I hated this movie. It seemed like the director was just trying to make me nauseous, what with the sickly living things and people eating gross stuff and everything. A bunch of pointless wandering, things happen for no apparent reason, and a dumb twist ending. Bah.

Maybe I shouldn't post this in an "I love Cronenberg" thread. Oh well. Just saw The Forbidden Kingdom. Now that's my kind of movie. I'm a philistine, what can I say?

For doctorrx0079,

No, not at all -- you're entitled to your opinions. Different films for different folks... ^_~

Cronenberg is well known to lead the audience into a lull and doing a completely 180 in the other direction at the least expected moment, and chaos ensues (or a wtf moment if you will)... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:24 pm

Daigohji wrote:eXistenZ really didn't grab me. Its depiction of a virtual world felt dated and unconvincing the moment it came out. By contrast, I still find Videodrome to be Cronnenberg's most thematically engaging film. While the fact that the film uses VHS as the medium of its black magic has dated it, the deeper themes at work are more relevant than ever today. To me, the film is saying that when you seclude yourself in a space where you only have the experiences you choose and allow yourself to be dictated to, you're on the path to becoming the tool of extremists. On a less melodramatic level it says that focusing on the abnormal to the point of obsession warps your perception of reality. There are any number of forums and communities on the internet that prove how true that idea is.

For Daigohji,

Yeah, I'd have to agree that Videorome still does stand out as an interesting film in it's own right. Having viewed the Criterion Edition two disc DVD set of Videodrome, it really does go into greater detail of what made it work, despite the obsolete VHS tape medium. I like how it delves into an early version of virtual reality with the cool head mounted device attached to the leading character...this was considered state-of-the-art, especially for the year of 1983.

The scene of having a person start sticking his head directly into the living room television screen is somewhat very odd but yet strangely erotic at the same time. Only Cronenberg could pull something like that off... ^_~

It's like somehow the tv has become this living & breathing entity...pretty surreal and heady stuff if you were to ask me... ^_~

Cronenberg originally wanted the tv to rise out of a water filled bathroom tub towards the end of the film but due not having a big enough budget to shoot it, and thus it was left out. It would've lead the movie down another interesting path, indeed...

The scene where the tv screen explodes into a bloody mess of entrails and gore is a priceless piece of cinema horror history had to be done in two takes. Cronenberg said he couldn't afford to redo a third take of that famous ending scene... ^_~

Long live the new flesh...

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~