Review of Videodrome (1983) by Luis M — 11 May 2016

This is a transitional film for Cronenberg. It's the last film he made that bears the marks of his early style, and it points to the direction he will eventually (but not immediately) go in. While I have great admiration for the ambition it displays, it doesn't completely succeed for me, and is one of my least favorite of his early films.

Only "Scanners" really works even less for me. What he's doing here is very similar to what he does later in a film like "Naked Lunch", or even "Spider" I guess, where an unreliable narrator affects the film in ways that makes everything depicted questionable.

My issue with "Videodrome" is that the reality of the film breaks down to the point that I don't think anyone can really say what's really happening in the last 20-40 minutes of the film.

Is that a serious problem? No, and I still think it's a remarkable film, but I think Cronenberg demonstrates less control over this film and it's subject matter than he does over earlier and subsequent films.