A virtual reality game is created which draws upon the ideas of the players. 12 people hook up to a game and then...things happen and you don't know what is real or what is part of the game. Players lose themselves and can't tell. Excellent SF movie for the mind. I can't believe I haven't seen this one before now. Picked it up for $5.00 as part of the "10 Movie Sci-Fi Pack."

David Cronenberg's films are technically very well made and while his films are very disturbing a good deal of his films also have either a dark or subtle wit, poignant emotion or even both. He is for me one of the most interesting and unlike any other out there directors, despite being known for body horror and originating it his films are much more than that. All these are the reasons for my admiration and appreciation for him, even if he is not one of my favourites.

Cronenberg did do much better films than 'ExistenZ' though, my top five being 'The Fly', 'Dead Ringers', 'Eastern Promises', 'The Brood' and 'The Dead Zone' (also like very much 'Scanners' and 'A History of Violence'). It is though a better film than 'Stereo', 'Crimes of the Future', 'Cosmopolis' and 'Crash', and put it on the same level as 'A Dangerous Method'. It is not one of his most original premises though, it was done similarly in 'Videodrome' (another better film of his) and done more disturbingly and interestingly even though it had its faults too.

'ExistenZ' could have been better than it was. It could have done with a tighter pace and the script has too much talk and doesn't flow as much as it needed to, so attention did waver at times.

Jude Law came over as bland to me and out of his depth, not a complete blank but the role was in need of more charisma than what was provided. There are much worse performances in a Cronenberg film (Robert Pattinson, Paul Hampton, Stephen Lack, Keira Knightly) but also much better (Jeremy Irons, Jeff Goldblum, Viggo Mortensen, James Woods, Christopher Walken). Some of the second half was a bit muddled.

However, as always with Cronenberg, 'ExistenZ' is a very accomplished looking film. It boasts some of the most startling imagery of any Cronenberg film (in a way that is both disturbing and also oddly beautiful),Cronenberg again showing his visual mastery. Howard Shore's, a Cronenberg regular, score is deeply haunting while also with a degree of emotion, not just going for full on horror but also the emotional core.

There is enough of 'ExistenZ' that is truly unnerving and thought provoking, the eerie opening showing a lot of promise and making one want to carry on watching. The ending is intriguing and by the end of the film there are points that you do think twice about. Cronenberg's direction is at least not my definition of cold and other than Law the acting is fine, especially from understated Jennifer Jason Leigh and intimidating-ly off-the-wall Willem Dafoe.

On the whole, interesting but uneven. 6/10

David Cronenberg's typically weird film is a multi-layered story of reality versus a virtual world, mixing the two so thoroughly that you'll no doubt end up being confused before the explanatory ending. Released at around the same time as THE MATRIX and exploring many of the same thoughts and ideas, EXISTENZ is less a crowd-pleaser and more of a low-key thoughtful affair which still manages to be packed with bizarre imagery and grotesque creations from Cronenberg's decidedly warped mind, except this time in a film more appealing to a larger audience than his older grue-fests like THE BROOD.

In the end, EXISTENZ fails to become a great movie by being too annoyingly clever for its own good, and is flawed by being too cold in its depiction of characters and situations, a problem Cronenberg has felt throughout his career - he's just too detached (with the exception of DEAD RINGERS, I believe). As realities switch and characters change allegiances, the film does isolate itself from the audience, although the wealth of ideas and imagination keeps it totally interesting throughout. Here, Cronenberg's obsession with "body horror" crops up in weird games consoles which are plugged into sockets at the base of the human spine (once again Cronenberg dwells on the sexual subtleties of the act) and pulsate and cry as organic lifelike creations.

There are a couple of very well-realised situations, particularly the restaurant scene where Jude Law's character assembles an organic gun (which shoots human teeth!) from the remains of his meal and uses it to shoot the waiter, or another scene near the end when a diseased console is burnt, releasing thousands of spores into the air. The diseases in the film hark back to earlier Cronenberg creations like RABID; although his films all look and feel a lot different, the same underlying obsessions and principles can be felt in each. The special effects are excellent and frequently disgusting, and there are brief flashes of the graphic gore and carnage which Cronenberg used to use so much.

EXISTENZ also benefits from a strong cast of accomplished actors, although some only appear in cameo roles. Jennifer Jason Leigh is the strong-willed and powerful female lead, and her pairing with Jude Law (as the film's "audience" type character, a complete novice who is sucked into the virtual world) is an inspired one, with the two setting it off really well together. Ian Holm appears as a mad inventor, and Willem Dafoe shines in another of his demented turns as a gas station assistant who has ulterior motives. Christopher Eccleson also cameos as a teacher, sporting an American accent along with Law which was a bit disconcerting for me! Although not one of his best movies, EXISTENZ is a good introduction to Cronenberg's work as it covers most of the themes and ideas closest to his heart while providing enough thrills and spills (as well as an almost obligatory twist ending) for the modern audience.