eXistenZ

• Director : David Cronenberg
• Producers : David Cronenberg, Andras Hamori,Robert Lantos
• Written by : David Cronenberg
• Starring : Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, Don McKellar, Callum Keith Rennie, Christopher Eccleston, Sarah Polley
• Music : Howard Shore
• Cinematography : Peter Suschitzky
• Distributer : Alliance Atlantis
• Release date : February 16, 1999
• Running time : 97 min.
• Country : Canada
• Language : English

eXistenZ

Watching a Cronenberg film can need as strong a stomach as an open mind. With eXistenZ you need both and in common with the characters - the open mind is a necessity. Filled with truly bizarre invention and weird organic creations, this film also comes with an engaging plot, but a plot that is at times elusive by nature.

Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is the greatest game designer alive. She and her unlikely newb accomplice Ted Pikul (Jude Law) embark upon a journey into her virtual game-world by plugging their spinal cords into a bizzare, fleshy and organic games system. Their journey at times resembles a psychotic rollercoaster ride. But, reality or not, when things become confusing and scary, should they leave the game or allow themselves to be pulled further in ?

What is real ? What does real mean anymore ? Cronenberg cleverly twists and turns between what might be reality and what might not, but steers it carefully enough that the viewer experiences the 'game' almost as much as the characters have to live it.

Full of odd circumstance and misdirection, this film arrived around the same time as the Matrix, but seemingly missed so much of the spotlight. Worth watching, but I felt not long enough, this is one of the weirdest adventures in Sci-Fi. Comparable to the works of William Gibson and Philip K.Dick, it may not suit all Sci-Fi tastes, but Cronenberg fans will probably love this.

Freddy, March 2007.