David Cronenberg's Cinema

I have to thank Michael Guillen for helping me realize the importance of the human body in David Cronenberg’s films. Michael’s 2007 interview talked about the importance of skin in Cronenberg’s films. Expanding on his words, I started thinking about the human body in Cronenberg’s films. Since that article, I have lost count on how many articles/reviews I have come across which used “body horror” in reference to Cronenberg’s films.

Of course, horror films are driven by fear of the mind which eventually results in the physical body getting harmed. But Cronenberg has never made traditional horror films. His films have always scratched beneath the surface and in most cases, shattered the surface.

The human body:

Videodrome (1983): Evolution of the human body.
The Fly (1986): Physical transformation of the body.
Dead Ringers (1988): Two bodies sharing one emotional spirit.
M. Butterfly (1993): Hidden secrets of the human flesh.
Crash (1996): Torture of the body for pleasure.
eXistenZ (1999): Virtual mind games.
Crimes of the Future (2022): mutations/transformation of body and its organs, body as art form.

After eXistenZ Cronenberg started examining deep within the human psyche with his next 3 features.

The human mind:

Spider (2002): fragmented mind

A History of Violence (2007): darkness that exists within the human soul.

Note: The two sex scenes in A History of Violence examine the physical body; the first is a tender scene where the body is acceptable to love whereas the second scene is of a violent animal instinct which renders the female body (Maria Bello's character) lifeless.

A Dangerous Method (2011): psychoanalysis, theories of the mind.

Then a diversion from the body with Cosmopolis (2012) and Maps to the Stars (2014) before  Cronenberg returned back to the human body with Crimes of the Future.

Having explored the body and mind, now Cronenberg turns his attention to post-body.

The Shrouds (2024): decay of human body.

The Shrouds ticks off what one would expect from a Cronenberg film: sci-fi, horror, human body, technology, bursting with ideas.

Cronenberg has always been in touch with technology and found a way to weave them into his films. The Shrouds continues exploration of contemporary technology that started with Videodrome (TV, VHS) and eXistenZ (games, virtual reality). The Shrouds looks at our current usage of AI, social media, internet conspiracy theories, hacking and cellphone surveillance to ponder upon a future that may already be here.

It is exciting to see that even at the age of 82 (he was 81 when The Shrouds was released), Cronenberg is making relevant, thoughtful cinema. I look forward to his next film.