eXistenZ

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan

A fun little David Cronenberg mindgame. Made a big impact on me when it came out in '99 and made me immediately seek out all his other films, so I shall always been indebted to it for that because they are all amazing. I do love films that make us question our reality.

This film has a hell of a cast, so many people that are much more well known now than when they were in this. As usual it has some very bizarre biological mutations that we come to expect in Cronenberg's work (well, his earlier work) and also an element of deception and paranoia that develops as things keep becoming progressively confused as to what is real and what is not. I wonder if Cronenberg is a gamer himself?

The acting in this is hilarious. Great actors playing fake game characters. It is a great artifice and allows for some very convoluted plots that are then critiqued by the film itself in the final moments.

There are some really cool concepts here too and the fx hold up too, which I was surprised about. My favourite parts are the transitions between the the different worlds of game and reality. There's a lot of ickyness in this one too, mutant creatures and biologically engineered game consoles. The organic bone gun is genius. Howard Shore's music sets a dark brooding tone throughout.

It's been a long time since I watched this one and there's still new details to find. Always been a favourite.