“roger, i had a very disturbing dream last night. in this dream i found myself making love to a strange man. only i’m having trouble you see, because he’s old… and dying… and he smells bad, and i find him repulsive. but then he tells me that everything is erotic, that everything is sexual. you know what i mean? he tells me that even old flesh is erotic flesh. that disease is the love of two alien kinds of creatures for eachother. that even dying is an act of erotism. that talking is sexual. that breathing is sexual. that to even physically exist is sexual. and i believe him, and we make love beautifully”
‘shivers’ - an early cronenberg feature film before his more recognisable work in horror, such as videdrome or the fly. it’s clearly a lot more unpolished, even schlocky in comparison to his later work, and that may just be apart of its charm. it completely pioneered the body horror subgenre - featuring revolutionary, innovative goopy practical effects of parasites is extremely visceral, and one of the first horror movies to show such violation and destruction to the human body for the time. it has some completely gruesome and even really disturbing subject matter. gory depictions of abdomens surgically being cut open, the bursting of the chest and a head brutally being smashed with a hammer. those are just a couple of violent acts that take place in this movie. the main reason why this sits at cult classic status is not only as it’s directed by the horror icon himself, but also has some completely subversive commentary. the main plot is this film follows a parasitical disease being spread through a hotel, those who contract it get an infection that makes them mindless sexual deviants. the ‘sex-zombies’ satirise the repression in society, but also the anxieties of ‘the sexual revolution’ - the parasites possibly be a metaphor for sexually transmitted disease, and the AIDS virus. it was extremely controversial at its time - due to its often ugly imagery for the time, with intensely transgressive gore and taboo sexual acts, which increases my respect for it - as it clearly pushes lots of boundaries for the time. not only that, but this is a highly effective horror movie - using gore to cause visceral shock, and using a high rise apartment for the setting, to create this inescapable, claustrophobic setting. ‘shivers’ is noticeably messier than some of his later efforts, but it’s still a must watch for cronenburg superfans, and those who love horror in general.
“roger, i had a very disturbing dream last night. in this dream i found myself making love to a strange man. only i’m having trouble you see, because he’s old… and dying… and he smells bad, and i find him repulsive. but then he tells me that everything is erotic, that everything is sexual. you know what i mean? he tells me that even old flesh is erotic flesh. that disease is the love of two alien kinds of creatures for eachother. that even dying is an act of erotism. that talking is sexual. that breathing is sexual. that to even physically exist is sexual. and i believe him, and we make love beautifully”
‘shivers’ - an early cronenberg feature film before his more recognisable work in horror, such as videdrome or the fly. it’s clearly a lot more unpolished, even schlocky in comparison to his later work, and that may just be apart of its charm. it completely pioneered the body horror subgenre - featuring revolutionary, innovative goopy practical effects of parasites is extremely visceral, and one of the first horror movies to show such violation and destruction to the human body for the time. it has some completely gruesome and even really disturbing subject matter. gory depictions of abdomens surgically being cut open, the bursting of the chest and a head brutally being smashed with a hammer. those are just a couple of violent acts that take place in this movie. the main reason why this sits at cult classic status is not only as it’s directed by the horror icon himself, but also has some completely subversive commentary. the main plot is this film follows a parasitical disease being spread through a hotel, those who contract it get an infection that makes them mindless sexual deviants. the ‘sex-zombies’ satirise the repression in society, but also the anxieties of ‘the sexual revolution’ - the parasites possibly be a metaphor for sexually transmitted disease, and the AIDS virus. it was extremely controversial at its time - due to its often ugly imagery for the time, with intensely transgressive gore and taboo sexual acts, which increases my respect for it - as it clearly pushes lots of boundaries for the time. not only that, but this is a highly effective horror movie - using gore to cause visceral shock, and using a high rise apartment for the setting, to create this inescapable, claustrophobic setting. ‘shivers’ is noticeably messier than some of his later efforts, but it’s still a must watch for cronenburg superfans, and those who love horror in general.
