31 Days of Horror: Existenz

Horror isn’t just a genre; it’s an amalgamation of pop culture, cozy traditions, and things that go bump in the night. So this year, we're taking our 31 Days of Horror across the entire cultural spectrum. We aren't just talking about movies—we're talking about the video games that kept us up till 3 AM, the books that gave us chills, the music that sets the perfect eerie vibe, and the seasonal food we're craving—or the strange food you’d have to tie us up and force feed us. Whether you're looking for absolute terror or just a cozy autumn mash-up, come back every day this month for a new bite-sized review or spooky adjacent list.

At some point, David Cronenberg took a weird left turn with his directing. That's saying something for the man whose name is synonymous with body horror and surrealistic imagery. However strange and gross his films got, there was a balance in his early films, particularly when it came to the acting. There was a very, for lack of a better word, mainstream acting style throughout his films with small dalliances into much stranger, maybe stiffer, choices. That balance seemingly when out the window around this film, Existenz.

Existenz centers around Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Lea), a video game developer embarking on a new release that promises to be a singular immersive experience. During a demonstration of the game an assassination attempt by anti-video game extremists causes damage to her game console, which just so happens to be an organic based machine, sending Allegra and one of the event security guards Ted Pikul (Jude Law) on the run in search of sanctuary.

Right off the bat, the film is not a satire. Existenz is riffing on ideas of video games =bad, like how they take over peoples lives, desensitization of people via video game violence, and toxic fandom well before these themes became well worn territory. But instead of harping on these ideas, it's more concerned with being a disorienting rollercoaster of blood and guts. All the best Cronenberg trademarks are all here! Gross organic guns, disgusting insect like monstrosities, a complete dissolve between what's real and what's not, and lets not for get the guns made of bones! Oh, did I mention that already? Well they're there and they are fucked up! (seriously though Cronenberg loves his biological weapons)

The film came out in 1999, a major year in film history. Had Existenz come out later it would be seen as inspired by The Matrix, another film that plays with reality. Had it come out early it would have been ahead of its time, setting the stage for the Wachowski's film. Instead it came out a couple weeks after The Matrix, overshadowed by it completely. Which is a shame, but honestly I don;'t think there exists a reality where Existenz gets the credit it deserves.

Back to my thoughts on the acting, everyone in Existenz feels like they're NPCs, which I guess is kinda the point. But that can be off putting to people who aren't used to stylistic choices that can be alienating. However as a fan of directors Yorgos Lanthimos and Wes Anderson, whose acting directions is often well beyond the "realistic" edge people are comfortable with nowadays, Existenz feels like another weird slice of outlandish presentation.

Head over to Just Watch to see where this fantastic mind fuck of a movie is streaming! Vinegar Syndrome recently released a 4K copy of it, but it is insanely OOP . Off to eBay i suppose (don't actually do that).