eXistenZ
Where Does Reality Stop... and The Game Begin?
Exciting stars Jennifer Jason Leigh (Dolores Claiborne), Jude Law (Gattaca) and Willem Dafoe (Speed 2, Affliction) challenge the boundaries of reality in this futuristic, critically acclaimed adventure thriller! During the first closed-door demonstration of an amazing new virtual reality game - called eXistenZ - the system's brilliant designer, Allegra Geller (Leigh), is violently attacked byia crazed assassin intent on killing her and destroying her creation! Forced to flee into hiding, Allegra enlists a young assistant (Law)ito help her in testing the damaged system...by convincing him to join her inside eXistenZ! The action then explodes as their world's real-life dangers begin to merge with the fantasy of the game! If you're ready to play, it's now your turn to plug into this powerfully entertaining hit!
Member Reviews
you need to remember gaming in the late 90s to get this movie - rdeschene
My review title basically states my point, and you have to realize that some of the characters in this movie play (almost entirely) characters in a computer game. Considering where gaming is today, I think it was somewhat prescient for its time. But you have to, as a viewer, watch it from that time. That is true of so many movies.Excellent Cronenberg - RDSmith
This is a typically weird Cronenberg flick in the style of Philip K. Dick (Cronenberg even sends a secret wink and clue to Dick fans when the two main characters are seen consuming fast food from a restaurant called "Perky Pat's" ... a reference only Dick fans will pick up on). Very similar in style and execution to Videodrome, and similar in ways to Naked Lunch.
What is real and what is simulacra? If we perceive something as real, how are we to determine real from unreal? That is the question[s] in this futuristic movie that takes interactive gaming to a new level of immersion. The gamer is taken from the "real" world into a "virtual" world, and the result is a bizarre mingling of fantasy and reality in which one does not know what is real anymore. Well worth watching, but not for the squeemish (although this should be taken for granted with all Cronenberg films as he uses unsettling images and ideas as devices to create moods).Solid - johnn_b
Whether or not you will like this film depends a lot on how you feel about David Cronenberg movies in general. If you thought The Fly was a great movie, you'll love eXistenZ. Cronenberg specializes in a thin spectrum of weirdness, and this movie is pretty weird. The theme can seem sophomoric, but relevant in a cyber world. Watch this one for the details. If you don't find something to love in the Chinese restaurant scene, there's no hope for you. It's also fun to watch what seem to be real humans acting as game cyphers who only respond to "trigger" phrases. The fact that the viewer can relate to this movie at all means our real world is as weird as the world in the movie. It's also fun to see Jude Law before he got ruined by stardom, back when he was doing dystopian-future sci-fi. Recommended for fans.
Member Reviews
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you need to remember gaming in the late 90s to get this movie - rdeschene
My review title basically states my point, and you have to realize that some of the characters in this movie play (almost entirely) characters in a computer game. Considering where gaming is today, I think it was somewhat prescient for its time. But you ...Excellent Cronenberg - RDSmith
This is a typically weird Cronenberg flick in the style of Philip K. Dick (Cronenberg even sends a secret wink and clue to Dick fans when the two main characters are seen consuming fast food from a restaurant called "Perky Pat's" ... a reference only Dick ...Solid - johnn_b
Whether or not you will like this film depends a lot on how you feel about David Cronenberg movies in general. If you thought The Fly was a great movie, you'll love eXistenZ. Cronenberg specializes in a thin spectrum of weirdness, and this movie is pretty ...