Nearly a full month after The Matrix arrived in theaters in March of 1999 and kickstarted a trilogy that would shatter box office records, another sci-fi film quietly released in theaters. This one far weirder, gooier, and more grotesque, but smaller in scale than the grand spectacle by the Wachowskis. Both dealt with deep submersions into alternate realities, but David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ takes a twisty sci-fi thriller full of espionage and video game culture and injects it with his brand of body horror. One squishy mind trip of a tale, told in the way only Cronenberg can, eXistenZ impressed critics upon release on April 23, 1999, though it didn’t quite catch on with audiences. Twenty years later, this underrated gem proved it was ahead of its time and remains a psychotropic journey worth taking.
Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as Allegra Gellar, one of the world’s top VR gaming developers. In this universe, VR isn’t an electronic console, but biotechnological; users plug in to their VR pods via umbilical cord to their spine. Allega’s biopod contains the only copy in existence of her latest game, eXistenZ, which she brings to a focus group for testing. But an assassination attempt means the game might be damaged. Allegra flees with new marketing trainee Ted Pikul (Jude Law), and she talks him into implanting a port of his own so they can test the game’s integrity together. As they enter eXistenZ, they find themselves in a game within a game, the lines burring between reality and virtual reality as assassins close in around them. If it’s not a group of anti-VR terrorists out to stop Allegra, then it’s her competitors determined to snuff out their competition. The further they go the less Allegra and Ted can trust anyone.
Cronenberg has always had a fascination with technology and how humanity is affected by it. In eXistenZ, there is no separation between human and technology; it goes beyond interfacing with virtual reality into something far more personal and intimate. Which is why it feels so sexual when these characters are plugging into their bioports, fleshy bits and all. There are echoes of Videodrome’s “Love live the new flesh” throughout; it’s not just the bioports that have become an extension of ourselves but the weapons as well. The guns used here are made of bone, cartilage, and sinew. And then there’s the surreal scene in the Chinese restaurant where Ted is forced to consume the “special”, a gruesome pile of mutated fish and frog bits, so he can assemble a weapon from its gristle and bones. Its ammunition? Teeth, of course.
Creature design and special makeup effects was handled by Stephan Dupuis (Scanners, The Fly, Maps to the Stars, Eastern Promises), a frequent Cronenberg collaborator. As for those unnerving fleshy bioports, Dupuis’ initial design was much more grotesque, looking more like a weird mechanical brain with veins and tendrils. The final design is far less monstrous, until it gets diseased anyway. Though there is some CG work, especially with some of the creatures, a lot of the gore and bioport/body horror stuff is practical. The use of practical effects is part of what makes eXistenZ such a standout in sci-fi films like this, where VFX and green screen are the norm.
Leigh plays Allegra with calm, calculating levity as the prolific game developer in an industry dominated by men out to destroy her. Law’s Pikul is the audience proxy learning the ropes of VR gaming, though he has a few tricks up his sleeve as well. There’s also Ian Holm, who plays rival game transCendenZ creator Nourish, which creates Inception layers of reality. Look for Willem Dafoe as scene-stealer black-marketeer Gas, too.
It’s fitting that eXistenZ marks Cronenberg’s first original screenplay since Videodrome, his obsession with humanity’s technology obsession and biology-based fears feel like a direct thematic continuation. Granted, eXistenZ is more firmly rooted in sci-fi thriller, but the horror elements are most certainly prevalent. 1999 was the year of cinematic exploration of virtual reality, between The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor, and eXistenZ. While the former became a box office juggernaut, the latter remains timeless thanks to its socially relevant themes and enduring practical effects. And any time Cronenberg explores new ways to manipulate, alter, and twist the human body in grotesque ways, it’s worth the watch.
