New Acquisition: Crimes of the Future (2022)

 

New Acquisition: eXistenZ (1999)

 

New Acquisition: Naked Lunch (1991)

 

New Acquisition: Fast Company (1979)

 

New Acquisition: The Dead Zone (1983)

 

New Acquisition: The Fly (1986)

 

New Acquisition: Scanners (1981)

 

New Acquisition: Shivers (1975)

 

New Acquisition: Dead Ringers (1988)

 

New Acquisition: Videodrome (1983)

 

New Acquisition: Rabid (1977)

 

New Acquisition: Crash (1996)

 

The Dead Zone (1983)

 

 

A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability. 

David Cronenberg tones down his trademark gore excellent Stephen King adaptation in favor of a more subdued and atmospheric interpretation of the story - enhanced by Walken's sensitive performance.

Halliwell*: "Glum thriller with a fairly predictable outcome but some well-staged episodes."

Maltin***: "Absorbing Stephen King story...Walken's moving, heartfelt performance is the core of evolving, if sometimes meandering movie where (despite reputations of King and Cronenberg) the emphasis is not on blood-and-guts horror."  

Videodrome (1983)

The Brood (1979)

Shivers (1975)

On the set: David Cronenberg

The Brood (1979)

A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.

From memory:  Although this is a more mainstream work for Cronenberg with an unusual, but generally incredulous plot, it is still an effective shocker and shows its director's signature, especially in the over-the-top finale.

Halliwell (no star): "Idiotic and repellent shocker."

Maltin BOMB: "Eggar eats her own afterbirth while midget clones beat grandparents and lovely young schoolteachers to death with mallets. It's a big, wide, wonderful world we live in!"

Scanners (1981)

A scientist sends a man with extraordinary psychic powers to hunt others like him.

To Die For (1995)

A beautiful but naïve aspiring television personality films a documentary on teenagers with a darker ulterior motive.

Slyly made satire with an excellent performance by Nicole Kidman  has lost some of its bite over time, probably because much of it has come true.

Halliwell*: "A deft satire on the worship of celebrity for its own sake and the way television can elevate the ordinary to heroic status, though it takes aim at an exceptionally easy target - a small-town girl - without managing to hit the bull's-eye."

Maltin**1/2: "Kidman is perfect...this black comedy seems to make all the right moves, but plays out its story with a surprising lack of irony; by the climax it has nothing more to offer."

David Cronenberg

(ph: Nicolas Guérin)