5 David Cronenberg Body Horror Movies under the knife.
Over the years, Canadian director David Cronenberg has gained notoriety for his bold artistic vision and provocatively absurdist contributions to the horror movie genre. Most notably within the strangely unsettling yet surrealist realm of body horror.
These biologically bizarre distortions of the flesh first made a striking impression upon a subdued 80s audience caught up in a climate of paranoid hysteria - provoked, in large part, by the advent of the AIDS epidemic.
Sometimes controversial, while cleverly challenging societal preconceptions about body image and censorship control, David Cronenberg's horror movies represent a unique brand of filmmaking unlike anything else seen in the industry.
Here are 5 David Cronenberg body horror movies everyone should watch before they die.
Videodrome (1983)
Responding to the "video nasty" phenomenon of the early '80s, David Cronenberg's cult-classic Videodrome (1983) seemingly dissects society's overindulgence in technology, offering a provocative window into an uncensored landscape of excessive on-screen violence and sex.
Often cited for its obscene body horror imagery and jarring practical effects - James Wood's ingeniously devised mutant hand stunt springs to mind - Videodrome daringly explores the potential psychological side-effects of unsanitized media consumption and overexposure to gratuitous explicitness.
David Cronenberg Body Horror Movies | The Fly
Rightfully awarded an Oscar for its hideously artful creature effects, David Cronenberg's science-fiction horror movie The Fly presents a grippingly tragic tale, examining under the microscope, humankind's dangerous fixation with the ever-alluring prestige of scientific endeavor.
Frightening for its gruesome effects and impactful for its thought-provoking themes, Seth Brundle's rawly visceral fly transformation poignantly combines terror and tragedy in a manner similarly reminiscent of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
David Cronenberg Body Horror Movies | Dead Ringers (1988)
Dead Ringers should be seen solely for Jeremy Iron's fascinating duel performance as twisted twin gynecologists Elliot & Beverly Mantle, alongside the smartly devised special effects required to convincingly pull off such a tricky on-screen illusion.
(Unless Jeremy has an undeclared long-lost twin I know nothing about)
But besides that seamless feat of filmmaking, Dead Ringers resembles a finely crafted psychological horror, conveying a bleakly spiraling premise punctuated with darkly sordid concepts and some unsightly body horror to boot.
Thanks to Cronenberg's creepy camera work and a charismatically nuanced turn from Jeremy Iron, it remains a fascinating tale that grimly dissects every woman's worst nightmare.
Scanners ( 1981)
In Scanners, David Cronenberg would chillingly elaborate on his signature body horror aesthetic, conjuring an explosively visceral sequence that instantly secured its place in cinema history as one of horror's most shockingly explicit expressions of violence.
In trademark Cronenberg style, the notorious exploding head scene supplied yet another cleverly conceived instance of body horror, requiring a latex head stuffed full of dog food, rabbit liver, and artificial blood to be blown to bits at immediate proximity by a 12-gauge shotgun.
The obscene aftermath of which plastered the surrounding walls in gratuitous bucketloads of blood and slimy projectile brain matter - supplementing an already suspenseful science fiction thriller saturated in a foreboding atmosphere.
David Cronenberg Body Horror Movies | Rabid (1977)
Sharing genetic likenesses to Cronenberg's previously released Shivers, Rabid similarly employs a disease-outbreak premise, in which a woman undergoes experimental surgery after suffering a horrific motorcycle accident.
As bodily mutations miraculously appear on Rose's body following the unapproved procedure, She soon develops an unceasing thirst for blood. Less shocking than Shivers but packed with insightful subtext, Rabid issues one of the director's most fully fleshed horror films, resembling a must-watch for those looking to complete the chilling back catalog of David Cronenberg body horror movies.
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