Solid Cronenberg film (Existenz (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Existenz (DVD)
Date:	21/09/09 (2 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting idea

Disadvantages: Also quite derivative

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room

David Cronenberg is best known as a creator of splatter films such as Scanners and Videodrome, which examine dissemination of the human body, whereas eXistenz is a very different beast altogether, looking at the mind and the nature of the soul. It's very different material for Cronenberg in that sense, but still contains enough disturbing material about human nature and a kitschy concept to satisfy fans of his.

The film revolves around Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a video game designer who is hailed as the very best that the world has to offer. She has legions of fans, and tests her latest game, eXistenZ, to a focus group to plenty of eager and doting fans. However, the gamers have to plug a special port into themselves (a lot like the jack-in port from The Matrix), creating a fully immerse, virtual reality experience. However, once the game starst, Allegra is savaged by an assassin who attempts to kill her with a strange new weapon, causing her to flee with Ted Pikul (Jude Law). However, the only copy of the game is damaged by Gas (Willem Dafoe), causing her to have to venture inside, along with a reluctant Ted, to get to the bottom of all of this strangeness.

The film is impressively crafted and has some interesting philosophical ideas, although sadly most of them had by this point been done by better films such as The Matrix. Not to mention, it has a blindingly obvious plot twist that you'll probably see coming from a few minutes in, or even just from reading this review. Still, it's well made and the performances are solid - but don't run out to see it unless you're a fan of the director or principal performers.

I really didn't quite know what to make of this film until the very last shot, but alas, I knew then that this was classic Cronenberg. It's no Videodrome, but it's a fine effort.

Summary: Fun if not Cronenberg's best