eXistenZ (by David Cronenberg)

lonemarlin40 MemberOP

41 messages
joined Nov 2006

#1 · May 2, 2004

So, I watched this movie yesterday—something I’d actually never even heard of before—and I gotta say, I have never seen anything more disgusting in my entire life. It’s not that the movie is stupid, or bad, or boring... it’s just straight-up revolting. At least for me.

I mean, David Cronenberg, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judd Law, Willem Dafoe... okay, fine, the lineup sounds decent enough... and I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a bad movie, but man, I felt so gross watching it... like 🙂

The whole thing deals with that whole virtual reality vs. real life thing where you can't tell what's real and what's a game, but we've seen that before in total recall, and The Matrix isn't far off either.

But this movie is just totally weird, and the worst part is how many slimy scenes there are... that whole game thing, those animals, that bone gun... ugh, gross.

I don't know, maybe I just don't get it. Or maybe it'll grow on me after I sit with it for a bit... hmm... What do you guys think?

silentridge8 Active Member

231 messages
joined Jun 2007

#2 · May 2, 2004

That’s just classic David Cronenberg; he definitely has this obsession with raw meat. 😕 The film theme itself is actually pretty interesting if you can look past the director's personal signature. "Videodrome" was just awful. 😱

Richard Hernandez13 Regular

269 messages
joined May 2004

#3 · May 2, 2004

Just another one of David Cronenberg's body horror movies.

It’s honestly such a shame this one came out the same year as The Matrix.
Still, it's a really good movie.

Joseph Anderson15 Newcomer

6 messages
joined Apr 2004

#4 · May 2, 2004

silentridge8 says:
That’s just classic Cronenberg—he's clearly obsessed with raw meat.😕

Exactly. Just look at "Crash"... the guy is straight-up disturbed.
I mean, I dig how slimy "eXistenZ" is 😎 , but let's not pretend it's some absolute masterpiece...

silentridge8 Active Member

231 messages
joined Jun 2007

#5 · May 3, 2004

Emily Martinez68 said:Yeah, absolutely. Just think about Crash... that guy is seriously twisted.
To be honest, I actually dig how slimy "eXistenZ" is. 😎 Not that I’m calling it a masterpiece or anything...

I haven't actually sat down to watch Crash yet, but I've definitely heard the buzz. Given the title and how obsessed David Cronenberg is with anatomy, I can only imagine what he did with it.😲 I finally figured out eXistenZ toward the end. It feels like Cronenberg just has his own specific niche audience; he doesn't really aim for those massive Hollywood blockbusters.

Joseph Anderson15 Newcomer

6 messages
joined Apr 2004

#6 · May 3, 2004

silentridge8 said:I haven't seen "Crash," but I've heard about it. Given the title and Cronenberg's obsession with anatomy, I can imagine...😲 I finally figured out "eXistenZ" toward the end—I think Cronenberg just has his own specific niche audience and doesn't really aim for those massive Hollywood blockbusters.

Actually, "Crash" is more like a pornographic/erotic fever dream—it's this twisted fetish where that obsession with raw human flesh, scars, and wounds from car accidents becomes the catalyst for the leads—and then you know how it goes... 🙂
It's wild—people stumble upon a horrific wreck and instead of helping, they just circle the victims, staring at the mangled remains and caressing the crushed metal until they get turned on. It's warped, right? They smash into each other on the highway, and every impact triggers some kind of release... then they hang out in junkyards full of totaled cars. They basically stage their own accidents just to feel something—the more injuries and scars they rack up, the more aroused they get. Watch it if that kind of stuff actually interests you, haha. 😍

Best,

Brian Gonzalez7 Member

35 messages
joined Feb 2004

#7 · May 3, 2004

lonemarlin40 said:So, I was watching this thing yesterday... this movie So, I’ve never even heard of this one before, and honestly? I gotta say, it was easily the most revolting movie I’ve ever sat through. And I don't mean that it was stupid, or scary, or just plain boring—it was just straight-up gross. At least, if you ask me.

So, this movie basically plays around with that whole idea of virtual reality versus real life, where you can't really tell what's actually happening and what's just some game. Honestly, we already saw this stuff play out in Total Recall, and let's be real, The Matrix isn't exactly light years ahead of that concept either.

This movie is absolutely killer. And if I'm not tripping, it actually came out before The Matrix, right? Though, honestly, that whole "is this a dream or just reality?" vibe has been played out in a thousand different sci-fi novels, so even The Matrix isn't exactly breaking new ground.
Look, I totally get why you think the movie is gross—I mean, I can't even blame you. But honestly? Since you aren't really a fan of David Cronenberg, you probably just need to dive into way more movies from this genre to actually get a feel for his style before you can really judge him.

lonemarlin40 MemberOP

41 messages
joined Nov 2006

#8 · May 3, 2004

Brian Gonzalez7 said:The movie is totally insane, and if I’m not mistaken, it came out before The Matrix, babe... though that whole idea of not knowing what's a dream and what's real has been in a thousand sci-fi novels, so even The Matrix isn't exactly groundbreaking...
The movie is gross to you for one simple reason—you don't like Cronenberg. You need to watch wayyyy more movies in this genre before you can actually judge him properly.

Well, I saw they both dropped in '99, and I wasn't exactly sure which one hit first. I wasn't even trying to claim one was some rip-off; I was just comparing similar themes.

I get that the theme shows up in a thousand sci-fi novels, but it's not exactly everywhere in movies... we're talking about films here, right?

Let's recap: the movie is disgusting because of the gross scenes, not the theme. In my first post, I said I don't think the movie is stupid, and I don't think it's boring, but those scenes with the meat, the blood, that stuff the main characters eat.... ugh, gross...

But I gotta admit, it's the kind of movie that sticks with you. It was the same way with A Clockwork Orange... I kept thinking about that movie for ages, and honestly, the more I think about it, the better it gets.

This movie is actually good, otherwise I wouldn't have even started a thread about it... I actually dig the theme more than The Matrix, but... I just can't stand those scenes with the butchered meat and all that. For me personally, if the whole movie stayed the same but they swapped those slimy scenes for something a bit more "palatable," it would be way better.

And yeah, I haven't really watched much Cronenberg, but I can catch up eventually, right? 😉

Robert Cooper41 Member

47 messages
joined Dec 2002

#9 · May 3, 2004

There’s this one Discipline Spine album titled "liking oneself so as not to be unpleasant"... and honestly, isn't that basically the unofficial motto for all of David Cronenberg's movies? 😁
But seriously, he is such a fascinating figure because of that incredibly specific auteur style he possesses... a style that just isn't exactly "easy watching" for the general public. You always see critics describing his work through these heavy psychoanalytic lenses, which has turned into a bit of a cliché, doesn't it? They're constantly throwing around terms like the unconscious, the ego, internal conflicts, and so on.
He eventually became a master at adapting literary works—think >, >, >...—which inevitably led to those constant accusations from the critics: claims of pornography, misogyny, or some twisted depiction of sexuality.

He actually admitted himself that MGM rejected the initial draft of the script for > because they claimed it "wasn't linear enough" 😂 So, what we have here is the "sanitized" version.

p.s. Given how "gross" certain scenes can get, this movie is actually quite mild compared to some of his other stuff like > or >... and frankly, I really don't want to know how women feel while watching >. 😱

Richard Hernandez13 Regular

269 messages
joined May 2004

#10 · May 3, 2004

Personally, I felt that eXistenZ was actually quite light compared to his earlier work.

As someone who considers themselves a hardcore gamer, I found Cronenberg's take on video games really fascinating.

Tyler Grant76 Active Member

79 messages
joined May 2009

#11 · May 3, 2004

Robert Cooper41 said:) ... and I don't even want to know how women feel watching "Dead Ringers" 😱

Is that the one with Jeremy Irons playing those gynecologist twins? I haven't slept well in days. And honestly, I can't even think about visiting my gynecologist without remembering those medical tools—it’s been maybe ten years now. Baaaaaaaaaa 😱

Personally, I wasn't huge on eXistenZ, mostly because it felt like something was missing from the movie. But it was interesting, I guess, just like all of Cronenberg's work. The only scene I found totally revolting was that licking thing at the bottom of the back, plus the whole... well, you know. But the organic gamepad? That's a brilliant idea. And that factory sequence felt like a genius little game, especially with the bone gun 👍
I mean, I think Cronenberg is terrifying specifically because his stuff feels possible.

And yeah, Naked Lunch is probably one of the best book adaptations out there, since it's just as witty as it is gross 😁

Richard Hernandez13 Regular

269 messages
joined May 2004

#12 · May 3, 2004

Regarding Naked Lunch, David Cronenberg once remarked: "If I were to film this exactly how I envision it, the movie would cost $300 million and get banned in every single country on Earth."
😁😁😁

Honestly, how could you not just love this guy?

Chloe Fox35 Newcomer

8 messages
joined Feb 2004

#13 · May 4, 2004

lonemarlin40 said:

Personally, if the whole movie stayed the same but those slimy scenes were swapped out for something a bit more "tasteful," it would be much better.

Personally 🙂: then it wouldn't be 'Crash.'

I watched, say, "Crash" a few years back, and the images still stick with me—my mind just seems to feast on certain scenes (perversely?), even if they aren't the weirdest or heaviest parts of the movie.
Just a bunch of details that haunt me sometimes... in a good way, obviously, since I think the movie is great and impactful.

eXistenZ is alright, could probably watch it again.

Zachary Castillo17 Newcomer

5 messages
joined Jul 2003

#14 · May 4, 2004

I actually thought the movie was pretty good... I didn't even blink at those "gross-out" scenes. They felt perfectly integrated into the story for me.
The only thing actually driving me crazy right now is: is that damn game finally over?!
They've looped back on themselves so many times that I can't tell if they finished it, or didn't, or did—by the end, I was just spinning. (I had a similar headache with Lynch's Lost Highway and that woman.)
And the worst part? I honestly can't decide if I would have preferred them to wrap up the game or just leave it hanging.

Jose Chase2 Active Member

196 messages
joined Sep 2008

#15 · Jan 15, 2006

A bit slow at 3pm. I mean, the movie is fine—easy enough to watch and not bad by any means—but it feels a little too soft for David Cronenberg. It gives me this weird deja-vu vibe. The whole plot lacks any real surprises, and the ending is totally predictable. Such a shame 👎

rapidbison42 Active Member

102 messages
joined Jan 2008

#16 · Jan 16, 2006

Looks like David Cronenberg was just catching his breath before Spider-Man.

eXistenZ (by David Cronenberg)

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