poster

eXistenZ
Director: David Cronenberg
Year: 1999
TRT: 1:37

Reviewed: 8/25/2024
VIDEO REVIEW

I would strongly suggest never seeing this film in a theater on acid. Just, not recommended. Or pretty much any Cronenberg film for that matter. At least, not on LSD. It’s just...Too much, theater viewing or otherwise. There’s enough mind-bending reality shit embedded in his horror-centric films you really don’t need that extra third-eye kinda experience to delve deeper. This one delves deep enough on its own.

We are introduced to the first wave of beta testers for the latest, greatest game with a stupid spelling, plugged right into your bio-port. Virtual reality that has little distinction from actual reality. It’s Cronenberg, so of course there’s some weird body-horror kinda interfaces and accessories. There’s a Chump and a LadyDeveloper. The scenario goes sideways when strange organic teeth-shooting guns get involved, and the fabric of reality rips more as the characters involved literally try to find the plot.

Context. This came out about a month after the first Matrix movie. I see a somewhat similar based premise here, but very different execution. Weird how we see that quite a bit, that kind of grouping of similarly themed movies release almost at the same time. Well, at least it did around this point of film releases, I can’t say I pay as much attention anymore because, well, not the same world of movie releases now, is it? But the basic theme of reality is the main premise here, and it goes in a pretty subverse direction. 25 years after its release, we are closer to the reality this portrays. Elon Musk’s NeuroLink is kinda the first gen of this. Well, if it connected to, like, your kidney spliced with a trout and a Playstation. Open-world gaming is already here, with some relatively minor limitations. Real-life is approaching or even surpassed some Grand Theft Auto kinda shit with each passing day. Doesn’t matter if you like like it or not, we are already all involved in a deeper level of this. Cronenberg does a decent job of relaying some of the problems that may arise from such fuckeries. What’s a game? What’s reality? And What makes you choose between the two?


Great Scene: So, I have to ask. How many films has Willem DaFoe popped up in? That dude has some weird street cred. From Blockbusters to Independent films to Fucked Up independent films. Dude is more prolific than Nic Fkn Cage and Samuel Lupacious Jackson COMBINED! His character Gas here is pretty good. Ian “I Am Not A Robot” Holm and Jude Law are alright here. And, well, Jennifer Jason Leigh. Still not sure how she’s had such a career. Maybe it’s just the roles she chooses. To her credit, she did do a good job in The Hitcher. Kinda.

Great Quote: “Free will is obviously not a big factor in this little world of yours.” -The Chump wakin up


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