Unreality TV
And now for something completely pervy…
VIDEODROME 18
Film Extras OUT now DUAL FORMAT
It’s just torture and murder,” says James Woods’ TV exec Max Renn. “No plots. No characters. Very, very realistic. I think it’s what’s next.” He’s talking Videodrome, the titular snuff show at the heart of David Cronenberg’s prophetic horror. OK, so I’m A Celebrity… hasn’t gone quite that far, but it’s only a matter of time, right? Having lost little of its power to get under the skin, this queasy mix of media satire and flesh-horror remains one of the Canadian auteur’s most subversive, kinky films.
While Woods is at his sleazy best, he’s fighting for air time with Blondie herself, Deborah Harry, as his girlfriend who gets sucked into the shady world of Videodrome long before he does. The atmosphere is increasingly dream-like, merging fiction and reality in a way that foreshadows Cronenberg’s underrated 1999 film, eXistenZ. Events, though, are frequently punctured by Rick Baker’s delicious practical effects, from a TV that comes alive to Renn discovering a VCR-like slot in his stomach.
Moments like this aren’t always subtle; the gogglebox’s pernicious influence is hammered home, whether it’s Renn being hoovered into it face-first (now that’s being glued to the screen...) or the Marshall McLuhan-like Prof. Brian O’Blivion ( Jack Creley) pronouncing how it’s “become the retina of the mind’s eye”. But with Cronenberg entirely in command of form and theme, the sickly social commentary still seems spot-on.
As for the package, this impressive two-disc set comes with a host of rarities, old and new. Forging The Flesh is a particular delight, as Baker reveals how they approached the visuals (including that pulsating TV set). Fresh material includes interviews with Cronenberg’s DoP Mark Irwin and producer Pierre David, and critical appraisals from Tim Lucas and Kim Newman, who dissects the alsoincluded four early Cronenberg shorts.
James Mottram
Extras › Commentary › Featurettes › Short films