Long live the new flesh
The movie of my weekend was Videodrome. Having watched David Cronenberg’s most recent offering, Eastern Promises, lately I felt is time to revisit an old classic. A pre-internet film made in 1983 which foresaw may of the dystopian views of mind-control and perception altering properties new technology might bring way before it’s time.
There are no mobile phones in this film, no email or satellite surveillance. Just a disturbingly, creepily realistic psychological horror film tapping into the fear we all have about where technology could take us. Made in 1983, it couldn’t possibly have pred ictedwhere we’ve ended up and in many ways, such as the worship of the cathode ray tude, it gets it so wrong. But somehow….. it still makes you shiver. If you’ve never seen videodrome, bit-torrent it and watch it. It’s worth about 5 current new releases. Long live the new flesh.
If you like it, and you want more, try eXistenZ. A similar film made 16 years later, starring Jude Law, eXistenZ is just as creepy, but much more advanced- addressesing the burgeoning gaming industry. Death to the demoess Allegra Geller.
Plug both these films into your bit-torrent client now. You might regret it.