After more than a twenty-year hiatus from body horror, the legendary David Cronenberg makes his long-awaited return to the genre with Crimes of the Future (which is completely unrelated to his previous 1970 feature of the same name).
As we descend on a grubby dystopian future made up of a bland/grey colour pallet it seems humanity has evolved to a point where they no longer feel pain… or anything for that matter, self-mutilation is all the rage as society spouts:
Surgery is the new sex.
And with that our hopes are immediately raised as it seems Cronenberg is going back to his routes.
We follow the life of Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), a performing artist who withdraws the constant additional organs that continue to grow inside him. Although advantageous for his career, this is not the case for Saul’s downtime as these “extra parts” make his day-to-day life a constant struggle, especially when it comes to his digestive system. Although, is it really the curse he thinks it is?
So, after Cronenberg’s long break from gruesome, gritty sci-fi, was the movie worth the wait? For the most part, sadly not.
There are elements of the plot that really has legs but before it has a chance of gaining any momentum, the movie is already over. Unfortunately, this is accompanied by one-dimensional characters and pacing which at times almost grinds to a halt. Despite this, however, there are really enjoyable aspects, especially those hard-to-watch moments that make you feel all dirty inside – which only someone like Cronenberg could get away with. From ear-men art exhibitions to bone chairs that help you eat (but definitely seem to make the process harder) the director does what he does best.
The main issue could be the fact he has pushed the envelope further decades prior with the likes of Videodrome and eXistenZ (which coincidently also had the working title Crimes of the Future). Or maybe when you look at the overall movie it just seems to be about a guy with dietary restrictions.
All in all, it’s worth a watch as there really are some intriguing concepts and if nothing else, just to see the master of body horror back in the habit.
Jacked In Reviews ‘Da Block’ (2023)
Written by Jay Anthony Connor, director Velton J Lishke brings us the story of Mikey (Lladel Bryant) and Sully […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘The B Movie’ (2023)
The humble opening of Richard Bray’s documentary establishes what’s to come in terms of tone as we begin with […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Barbarian’ (2022)
Tess (Georgina Campbell) is visiting from out of town for the interview of a lifetime. Unfortunately, after a bit […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Color Out of Space’ (2019)
Color Out of Space, absurd, horrendous and f*cking wonderful all in one! This intimate, trippy, sci-fi, horror […]
Most Memorable Stephen King Adaptations
When it comes to chilling someone to the very core, no one is more synonymous in the world of horror than Stephen […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Super’ (2010)
Super follows the story of Frank Darbo (Rainn Wilson), a luckless fry cook who has literally only had two perfect […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘The Iron Giant’ (1999)
The Iron Giant follows the story of Hogarth, a young boy who befriends a giant robot from outer space. Not knowing […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘The Suicide Squad’ (2021)
With the same premise as the previous movie (and obviously its literary inspiration) The Suicide Squad follows a […]
11 Reasons Why ‘Superman III’ Is Better Than You Remember
Superman has certainly come a long way ever since Christopher Reeve reignited the character on the big screen back […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Call the Shepherd – Lambing Time’ (2023)
As we follow the day in the life of a lamb farmer, from the get-go it’s clear that this documentary is going to […]