Review of eXistenZ (1999) by Pavlos M — 17 Nov 2008

Bottom line: Could have been much better.

The idea of parallel universes was popularised by Matrix and eXistenZ is another example of it. It's still nice but, unfortunately for Mr Cronenberg, both the Matrix and Dark City have been more successful at depicting the correct atmosphere and avoiding scenes that look ridiculous. I will only mention one example of such a scene. It's Allegra Geller's licking of Pikul's plug hole to "soothe" it before she puts a disgusting thing in it. In fact, that's a necessary ritual before playing a game and while some people might have liked the idea of that, well, I didn't.

All in all, it's a nice movie and if you're a Matrix fan, you have to see this.