Tuesday, May 13, 2014

WHAT'S IS DAVID CRONENBERG'S BEST FILM, FIENDS?

As I've said on a number of occasions, David Cronenberg is my hero. I love his films, regardless of era, regardless of subject. I saw The Brood on USA when I was a kid and it scared the piss out of me. Later I got Scanners from one of the little video stores, by then there were two sequels (that Cronenberg had nothing to do with). The Fly and Naked Lunch blew my mind and then I saw Videdrome.
My writing rarely reflected much of a Cronenbergian influence, but being floored by each of his movies definitely drove me to be better. My latest e-novella Conspiracy Of Birds couldn't exist without his inspiration (along with my love of Dario Argento's films).
I just rewatched The Brood for the first time in years, with my wife who'd never seen it. It was such a great experience to come back to my first Cronenberg film after so long, seeing it on a restored (but bare bones) DVD and seeing it in a whole new light and still being just as moved by the experience. Like I said, the movie scared the piss out of me the first time and I'll be damned if it's not still disturbing.
But what's my favorite Cronenberg film? I cautiously say Scanners. It may not be as conceptually strong as Videdrome or The Fly, but it has an emotional edge over the other films for me. It was the one I rented over and over again. I liked the urban exploitation X-Men feel of it. Then again Videodrome is endlessly quotable and The Fly is, well, have you seen The Fly? It's a masterpiece of gore and bio- philosophical horror. Then there are the newer films, Cosmopolis, Eastern Promises, and History of Violence? And what about the mid period, Dead Ringers, Crash, Spider..?
I think Cronenberg's body of work has been far more consistent than many of his peers. It's a career that deserves a multi-volume examination.
So, dear fiends...what's your favorite Cronenberg film?


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