David Cronenberg's typically weird film is a multi-layered story of reality versus a virtual world, mixing the two so thoroughly that you'll no doubt end up being confused before the explanatory ending. Released at around the same time as THE MATRIX and exploring many of the same thoughts and ideas, EXISTENZ is less a crowd-pleaser and more of a low-key thoughtful affair which still manages to be packed with bizarre imagery and grotesque creations from Cronenberg's decidedly warped mind, except this time in a film more appealing to a larger audience than his older grue-fests like THE BROOD.
In the end, EXISTENZ fails to become a great movie by being too annoyingly clever for its own good, and is flawed by being too cold in its depiction of characters and situations, a problem Cronenberg has felt throughout his career - he's just too detached (with the exception of DEAD RINGERS, I believe). As realities switch and characters change allegiances, the film does isolate itself from the audience, although the wealth of ideas and imagination keeps it totally interesting throughout. Here, Cronenberg's obsession with "body horror" crops up in weird games consoles which are plugged into sockets at the base of the human spine (once again Cronenberg dwells on the sexual subtleties of the act) and pulsate and cry as organic lifelike creations.
There are a couple of very well-realised situations, particularly the restaurant scene where Jude Law's character assembles an organic gun (which shoots human teeth!) from the remains of his meal and uses it to shoot the waiter, or another scene near the end when a diseased console is burnt, releasing thousands of spores into the air. The diseases in the film hark back to earlier Cronenberg creations like RABID; although his films all look and feel a lot different, the same underlying obsessions and principles can be felt in each. The special effects are excellent and frequently disgusting, and there are brief flashes of the graphic gore and carnage which Cronenberg used to use so much.
EXISTENZ also benefits from a strong cast of accomplished actors, although some only appear in cameo roles. Jennifer Jason Leigh is the strong-willed and powerful female lead, and her pairing with Jude Law (as the film's "audience" type character, a complete novice who is sucked into the virtual world) is an inspired one, with the two setting it off really well together. Ian Holm appears as a mad inventor, and Willem Dafoe shines in another of his demented turns as a gas station assistant who has ulterior motives. Christopher Eccleson also cameos as a teacher, sporting an American accent along with Law which was a bit disconcerting for me! Although not one of his best movies, EXISTENZ is a good introduction to Cronenberg's work as it covers most of the themes and ideas closest to his heart while providing enough thrills and spills (as well as an almost obligatory twist ending) for the modern audience.
In the end, EXISTENZ fails to become a great movie by being too annoyingly clever for its own good, and is flawed by being too cold in its depiction of characters and situations, a problem Cronenberg has felt throughout his career - he's just too detached (with the exception of DEAD RINGERS, I believe). As realities switch and characters change allegiances, the film does isolate itself from the audience, although the wealth of ideas and imagination keeps it totally interesting throughout. Here, Cronenberg's obsession with "body horror" crops up in weird games consoles which are plugged into sockets at the base of the human spine (once again Cronenberg dwells on the sexual subtleties of the act) and pulsate and cry as organic lifelike creations.
There are a couple of very well-realised situations, particularly the restaurant scene where Jude Law's character assembles an organic gun (which shoots human teeth!) from the remains of his meal and uses it to shoot the waiter, or another scene near the end when a diseased console is burnt, releasing thousands of spores into the air. The diseases in the film hark back to earlier Cronenberg creations like RABID; although his films all look and feel a lot different, the same underlying obsessions and principles can be felt in each. The special effects are excellent and frequently disgusting, and there are brief flashes of the graphic gore and carnage which Cronenberg used to use so much.
EXISTENZ also benefits from a strong cast of accomplished actors, although some only appear in cameo roles. Jennifer Jason Leigh is the strong-willed and powerful female lead, and her pairing with Jude Law (as the film's "audience" type character, a complete novice who is sucked into the virtual world) is an inspired one, with the two setting it off really well together. Ian Holm appears as a mad inventor, and Willem Dafoe shines in another of his demented turns as a gas station assistant who has ulterior motives. Christopher Eccleson also cameos as a teacher, sporting an American accent along with Law which was a bit disconcerting for me! Although not one of his best movies, EXISTENZ is a good introduction to Cronenberg's work as it covers most of the themes and ideas closest to his heart while providing enough thrills and spills (as well as an almost obligatory twist ending) for the modern audience.