Favourite Five Series: DAVID CRONENBERG

David Cronenberg has forty director credits listed on IMDB; twenty-one of those credits are feature films. I have seen twenty of those feature films; Maps of the Stars has not yet been released. I think they outta start naming some Canadian monuments after David Cronenberg, or at very least a school or two. David Cronenberg Elementary; they can do a musical version of The Brood each year in his honor. Before compiling this list I went to the effort of seeing Cosmopolis, which I found Comme-ci, comme ça. It certainly wasn’t changing anything on this list. The only film I feel really strongly about from Cronenberg’s last decade of filmmaking is Eastern Promises. Don’t misunderstand, I have actually quite enjoyed Cronenberg’s entire body of work but it is his horror films that will always have a special place in my heart. Cronenberg’s early horror films are the perfect combination of the physical with the psychological. The term body horror or venereal horror has been used to describe his early genre films and an apt description it is. The term body horror basically represents a complete and graphic breakdown of the human body from any number of causes; disease, parasite, cerebral manifestation to note a few. Cronenberg’s films are complimented by strong stories, perfect casting, amazing performances and gag-worthy visuals. This was the easiest list I have ever put together; the only real struggle was leaving Dead Ringers off the list. As much as I love Dead Ringers and Jeremy Irons brilliant performance it is not a film that I revisit nearly as often as the five included below.

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VIDEODROME (1983)

Videodrome is about a struggling cable television station run by Max Renn. Renn is always on the lookout for programming not offered by the competition and shows soft-core adult films late nights. Renn is looking to step up his game and one night his engineer stumbles upon a grainy barebones production called Videodrome. Videodrome appears to be simulated snuff but as Max soon discovers it is all very real. Videodrome is more than torture, it is an addictive mental mindfuck with the ability to transform the human body. Videodrome is both a warning about the dangers of technology taking over our lives and our desensitization to violence. It also has really bloody amazing effects by Rick Baker that hold up as well today as they did back in 1983. Really ghastly and original stuff. Despite a mainstream cast and major distribution Cronenberg holds back nothing and creates a gritty, disturbing and uncompromising film. James Woods is pitch-perfect as station owner Max Renn. Woods Renn character is cocky, tactless and intense; watching him lose his grip on reality is Shakespearian. Deborah Harry was an impeccable choice as Nicki Brand; she is sexy, kinky and completely believable in the role. Renn has a sexual relationship with Brand who becomes drawn into Videodrome and eventually becomes one of its victims. Videodrome is without a doubt my favourite David Croenberg film and one of my favorite horror films of all time. “Long live the new flesh!”

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THE BROOD (1979)

The Brood is about Nola Carveth who is being treated by Psychotherapist Dr. Raglan. Dr. Raglan is using an unconventional treatment called Psychoplasmics. The method encourages the patient to work through their emotion until it physically manifests itself. Nola has become a primary focus of Dr. Raglan’s therapy due to her extraordinary adaptation. Nola receives weekend visits from her daughter Candy important to her therapy; but after her ex-husband Frank finds Candy bruised and scratched he puts an immediate end to the visitations. Shortly after, Nola’s abusive mother is found brutally murdered. Even more disconcerting they discover the dead body of a mutated child who appears to be the one responsible for the death. The ability to materialize your anxiety, fear or anger would be a pretty unsettling ability to have. I can’t imagine what mad nastiness my mind would concoct! The little mutant children featured in The Brood are creepy as hell. The effects are impressive and the makeup on the mutant kiddies is beautifully grotesque. Large groups of children in snowsuits scare me to this day. One of my favourite scenes in the film takes place in a kindergarten class with a bunch of child actors who probably grew up seriously traumatized thanks to Cronenberg. The best visual effects assault however is courtesy of Nola Carveth in the film’s finale. You can find pictures of it all over the place, but I am not going to be the one to spoil it for you. It really is freaking spectacular! Another top-notch cast that includes legend Oliver Reed who plays Dr. Raglan with charisma, strength and authority, the exquisite Samantha Eggar who plays Nola Carveth with disturbed psychosis, rage and a touch of empathy, Cindy Hinds who plays Candice Carveth a quiet, solemn little girl with an adult-like numbness that is chilling and Art Hindle who plays the voice of reason Frank Carveth. Mood and atmosphere, well paced, steadily building tension, amazing effects and stunning performances; The Brood is a suspenseful, intense and chilling experience.

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NAKED LUNCH (1991)

Naked Lunch is loosely based on William S. Burroughs’ novel of the same name. Cronenberg turns the story into a semi-autobiographical account of Burroughs life. Characters are based on Burroughs real life acquaintances Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Joan Vollmer and Paul and Jane Bowles. Bill Lee is an exterminator whose wife Joan is addicted to the insecticide he uses to kill bugs. Bill too is affected by the substance which causes him to have severe hallucinations. So severe are his hallucinations that Bill believes he is a secret agent for an organization called Interzone and is assigned tasks by a giant insect! Although I included Naked Lunch on my top ten horror film list for 1991 it really is not a horror film; although Cronenberg definitely includes horrifying images in the film. There are some downright gross visuals that are on par with any of the horror films on the list. As noted, Cronenberg never intended his film to be a straight up adaptation of Burroughs book but I think he does a superb job of capturing the general vibe while maintaining a distinct David Cronenberg flavor. I love Cronenberg’s approach with the inclusion of facts from Burroughs fascinating life. The shooting death of Burrough’s girlfriend Joan Vollmer is worked into the plot of Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch. Burroughs says of the incident “I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would have never become a writer but for Joan’s death”. Naked Lunch is a strange, hypnotic, and sublime trip into another world. The film is accented by some truly exceptional performances from Judy Davis, Roy Scheider, Ian Holm, Julian Sands and Nicholas Campbell and most notably Peter Weller who plays Bill Lee. When I think of the most iconic acting roles of the past few decades Weller’s Lee is one of the first that comes to mind. Naked Lunch has withstood countless viewings and always leaves me feeling a little disoriented but awestruck. It is truly a one of a kind experience that, like a lot of Cronenberg’s films, elicits strong opinions of love or hate; I happen to think it is a masterpiece. “Exterminate all rational thought. That is the conclusion I have come to.”

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RABID (1977)

Rabid focuses on Rose, the victim of a serious motorcycle accident. Rose becomes the beneficiary of a radical surgery performed by Dr. Keloid involving tissue grafting. The surgery has an unexpected side effect in the form of a vagina-like orifice in her armpit that craves human blood. Rose runs amok in an effort to sate her cravings. Rose’s feedings not only cause bodily harm but they infect her victims causing them to go into a rabid state and attack and infect others. Doctors in horror movies have caused so much mayhem over the years haven’t they? If Rose had been taken to a regular hospital instead of a plastic surgery clinic none of this would have happened. Needless to say the infection spreads like wildfire and martial law is declared. The infected move quickly and attack viciously; fortunately they are easy to kill. The effects are solid although Rabid is not especially graphic. Rose’s armpit vagina is the film’s coolest effect and it is quite a unique one too! There are some particularly well-executed action sequences. My favourite is a scene that takes place in a mall during Christmas time and a security guy goes on a crazy shooting spree and kills Santa! Another scene that takes place on a subway is also delightfully chaotic. Marilyn Chambers does not speak much in her role as Rose but she is lovely and intense and a pleasure to behold. Chambers brings a good balance of strength and vulnerability to Rose. Frank Moore is natural and likable as her boyfriend Hart. Rabid is well-paced with evenly distributed violence throughout. Rabid is smart, well-written, intense and seriously entertaining.

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THEY CAME FROM WITHIN (1975)

They Came from Within aka Shivers is about an experiment conducted by Dr. Emil Hobbes using parasites. The parasites cause the patient to have an overwhelming sexual appetite. Hobbes implants his girlfriend Annabelle with the parasite who is living in The Starliner a self-contained, exclusive high-end condominium. Annabelle quickly spreads the parasite throughout the building. Hobbes then kills his Annabelle and himself and the case is closed. Meanwhile residents of the building are getting sick and parasites are running loose and attacking the residents. The condominiums on-site Doctor Dr. St. Luc uncovers information about Hobbes research and tries to contain the parasite in the Starliner condominium, but will it be too late? Shivers is an intense, intelligent, claustrophobic tale full of sexuality and violence. Shivers opens with the death of a very young woman by the hands of a middle-aged man who then cuts his own throat. The next bit of yuckiness comes from a resident named Nick who leaves work early feeling sick. He vomits out a parasite and it is not long before all hell breaks loose in the enclosed space of the condo. The violent and deviant scenes to follow are unique and effective in that very special Cronenberg sort of way. Shivers has sex, nudity, incest, violence and even cannibalism. There is a ton of crazy shit going on here! Repulsive, erotic, nasty, “even dying is an act of eroticism”. As is the case with all the films on this list there are great performances here from Paul Hampton as Dr. St. Luc, the feline-esque Lynn Lowry as Nurse Forsythe, Allan Kolman as Nicholas Tudor, Susan Petrie as Janine Tudor, Joe Silver as Rollo Linsky and Barbara Steele as Betts. Cronenberg creates an excellent mood of paranoia and includes plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle commentary on contemporary 70′s culture. Shivers was Cronenberg’s first horror film and is one of his best.

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CURTAINS (1983) – The Dungeon Review!

I have been neglecting my own country and I thought it was time I should begin to remedy that. It won’t exactly be an avalanche of Canadiana but I will definitely be reviewing a couple more Canuck flicks before the month is over. Curtains is the second review I have done for a Canadian film starring Samantha Eggar. The other film being David Cronenberg’s The Brood. Eggar is brilliant in The Brood; she brings just the right amount of class to coo-coo. She gives another memorable performance in Curtains, but we’ll talk more on that later. I guess Curtains would be classified as a slasher, but it has a great gialloesque plot and twist that makes it rather special in my opinion.

This is my third viewing of Curtains which I picked up on VHS a while back. Unfortunately my TV crapped out on me recently so I had to ask a friend to let me bring my VCR over to their place to re-watch it. Before you get too excited about picking Curtains up for your collection, be warned, I have only been able to find Curtains on DVD included in one of those cheapie collections you find in Walmart dumpbins (The Midnight Horror Collection: Bloody Slashers). I do not believe Curtains has ever been released on DVD otherwise. What a shame!

Actress Samantha Sherwood is signed into a mental hospital by her director Jonathan Stryker. A precarious ruse concocted by Sherwood that will enable her to research for her next role as Audra. Stryker visits regularly at first but as time wears on Sherwood inevitably becomes affected by her environment. Instead of speaking to Sherwood’s doctor about their artful dodge, Stryker stops visiting and leaves Sherwood there to suffer her fate. Stryker begins recasting for the Audra role and invites six actresses to his estate to tryout. It is a role to die for as the sextet of actresses will soon find out.

The premise of Curtains is not exactly screamingly original even cliché may not be inappropriate. In the world of slashers there are no lack of young women gathered for the express purpose of their on-screen elimination. It is all in the execution as to whether a director can make it work and Richard Ciupka adds great twists, a big fat red herring not to mention a few delightful visual flourishes that put Curtains a cut above the competition. I love the ugly hag mask the killer wears. When the killer straps on some ice skates and goes whipping across a pond with sickle in hand you know you are watching a slasher with panache! The violence is considerably less graphic than most of its peers but Ciupka makes up for it quite nicely with some very stylish death scenes. Besides the aforementioned skating scene there is a fantastic dream sequence involving a creepy doll and a superb chase though a storage garage of movie props! There is a wee bit of sex and nudity although so little it is barely worth mentioning. The visuals overall are pretty terrific and its mystery unwinds in a nice steady manner giving you brow-raisers at regular intervals. Curtains does have a couple of scene changes that were a bit clumsy, but it is a minor quirk in the overall presentation. The film’s score is quite decent although I could have lived without the cheesy song played during the lengthy ice-skating scene. Curtains has a solid cast anchored by John Vernon and Samantha Eggar. John Vernon is good at playing the guy you love to hate and he is a first rate prick as the arrogant director Jonathan Stryker. Samantha Eggar is strong as the respected older actress who moves from slightly cracked to collected regularly throughout the film. The actresses are a collection of familiar Canadian faces that anyone my age would surely recognize including Linda Thorson, Anne Ditchburn, Sandra Warren, Lesleh Donaldson, Deborah Burgess and Lynne Griffin who played my favourite character comedianess Patti O’Connor. Michael Wincott makes a brief appearance as Matthew, a character whose inclusion was frankly a bit of a mystery to me and Maury Chaykin also has a quick in and out.

I really enjoyed Curtains! It is a great little mystery disguised as a slasher that is worth seeking out. With all the mucky-muck I’ve seen on DVD I can’t believe this nifty little film has not found a distribution company! Recommended!

Dungeon Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Richard Ciupka

Starring: John Vernon, Samantha Eggar, Linda Thorson, Anne Ditchburn, Lynne Griffin, Sandee Currie, Lesleh Donaldson, Deborah Burgess, Michael Wincott, Maury Chaykin

THE BROOD (1979) – The Dungeon Review!

“The Ultimate Experience Of Inner Terror”

I did a little blurb about David Cronenberg when I first started this blog, but I am shocked that The Brood is my first full-length review of one of his films. What the hell is wrong with me?! Cronenberg is without a doubt one of my favourite directors of all time. I am particularly fond of Cronenberg’s older stuff referred to as “body horror” which is certainly apt as the body is transformed, infected and diseased in the most grotesque of ways. While the premise of his films seem wildly outrageous, Cronenberg’s intelligently written plots make you believe the impossible may actually be possible. Cronenberg’s films boast unforgettable scenes of gore and violence and some of the genre’s most perfectly cast leads. Jeff Goldblum in The Fly, James Wood in Videodrome, Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone, Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers to name a few. Cronenberg includes social commentary, humour and various obsessions in his stories and character development is always an important component. I could go on for days about Cronenberg, but I’ll sum it up by just saying I think the man is brilliant. His flicks get under my skin and that really turns me on.

Psychotherapist Dr. Hal Raglan is using an unconventional treatment with his patients called Psychoplasmics. The method encourages the patient to work through the emotion until it physically manifests itself. Dr. Raglan demonstrates with an audience attended therapy session where we see one man abused by his father develop welts on his skin. Nola Carveth becomes the focus of Dr. Raglan’s unorthodox treatments due to her extraordinary adaptation to the therapy. Nola receives weekend visits from her young daughter Candy that is important to her therapy. But after ex-husband Frank picks up Candy after one such visit and finds her bruised and scratched he puts an immediate end to the visitations. Dr. Raglan attempts to reason with Frank, understandably to no avail. Shortly after, Nola’s abusive mother is found brutally murdered. Even more disconcerting they discover the dead body of a mutated child who appears to be the one responsible for the death.

Oliver Reed is the perfect choice for Dr. Raglan and brings charisma, strength and authority to the mad doctor role. The idea of Psychoplasmics is eerie. The ability to materialize your anxiety, fear or anger would be a pretty unsettling ability to have if you ask me. I’m not sure the Psychoplasmic therapy is actually helpful to the patients in any way. It seems more of a burden than anything. A rather horrifying burden as a matter of fact! The wonderfully wide-eyed Samantha Eggar plays Nola Carveth exquisitely. There is no disputing that Nola is disturbed, but along with the psychosis and rage she brings a certain amount of empathy to the role. Cindy Hinds who plays Candice Carveth barely speaks the entire film. The solemn little girl sees some pretty disturbing things but has this numbness to it that is chilling. The films final shot of Candy suggests that the apple may not fall far from the tree. My one and only complaint about The Brood is the casting of Art Hindle as Frank Carveth. Frank is supposed to be the sane character in the story, and Hindle isn’t awful in the role, he’s just kind of generic and flat. Sharing the screen with Oliver Reed and Samantha Eggar doesn’t do Hindle any favours. He is the only minor blemish on an otherwise brilliant piece of filmmaking.

The mood and atmosphere in The Brood is perfect, and hints from the start that something is not quite right. When Frank finds bruises on his five-year-old daughter after picking her up from a weekend visit with mom, we get our first hint of the horror to come. The film is well paced and the steadily building tension is spot on. There isn’t a ton of violence but what there is will certainly leave an impression. The climax is one of the greatest horror moments of all time! It’s a visual assault even after multiple viewings! (I intentionally included no spoilers in this review, but if you want the films monumental moment ruined you will have no trouble whatsoever finding reviews with spoilers galore and pictures to back it up). Another great scene takes place in a kindergarten class with a bunch of child actors who probably grew up seriously traumatized thanks to Cronenberg! The effects are impressive, particularly those featured in the finale. The makeup on the mutant children is very creepy. From the back or a distance the mutant tikes blend in nicely bundled in their winter snowsuits. Little kids in snowsuits scared the hell out of me for years after seeing this film.

As mentioned in my opening statement, Cronenberg has a way of making the impossible seem horrible possible and The Brood is a perfect example. The minds power over the body is a fascinating topic, which Cronenberg takes to a whole new frightening level with his Psychoplasmics. Harnessing negative emotion and creating something physical may seem absurd but it is completely believable in Cronenberg’s world. The Brood is full of anger, bitterness and trauma with some seriously ass kicking final scenes that will stay with you long after you’ve turned off the DVD player. The Brood is suspenseful, intense and chilling. Hell hath no fury like Nola Caveth scorned. Highest of recommendations.

Dungeon Rating: 5/5

Directed By: David Cronenberg

Starring: Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle, Henry Beckman, Nuala Fitzgerald, Cindy Hinds, Susan Hogan, Gary McKeehan