Cult Movie Review: Videodrome, 1983

By: Lucy Hall

“First it controls your mind. Then it destroys your body.”

"Long live the new flesh."        

     Videodrome is a psychological, science fiction, horror film. The film’s storyline consists of a television producer programmer, Max Renn’s (James Woods) aspirations to expand the viewing audience of his UHF television station, CIVIC-TV. Max is always on an incessant pursuit of the next radical, cutting edge programming that will push the boundaries of sex and violence. The station’s regular programing specializes in the perverse, however, Max is bored with the current lineup. Soon with help from his tech guy he discovers a grainy broadcast signal featuring gratuitous violence, torture and death.
     This strange broadcast known as "Videodrome" intrigues Max to the point of pursuing the creators to negotiate rights for a potential hit for his station. Max, apparently believing the footage to be staged snuff television, begins pirating the program and also recording it for his own personal viewing.
     While appearing on a talk show he meets his soon to be girlfriend, Nicki Brand (Debbie Harry) who is of course, a sadomasochistic radio psychiatrist. On the talk show Max defends his choices for programs on his network to both Nicki and Professor Brian O'Blivion (Jack Creley), a philosopher who only appears on television if his image is broadcast per television set, with his true whereabouts to remain secret. O’Blivion predicts that the future will bring about an age in which television will replace real life. Max’s curiosity for Videodrome leads him to investigate and discover the truth behind the signal’s source. In turn he soon loses touch with reality and spirals down a path of deception, mind control, an unusual socio-political movement, and bizarre hallucinations.

      The surreal film was written and directed by David Cronenberg. The innovative director has been recognized as forefather of a subgenre of horror known as “body horror”. Which is characterized by themes pertaining to the mortal fears of one’s own body. Such as disease, disaster, mind expansion, hallucinations, and bodily transformation. His style interweaves the psychological with the physical in such films as Shivers, Rabid, The Brood, Naked Lunch, Scanners and Videodrome.

       Like many of Cronenberg’s works, Videodrome includes a number of visually disturbing scenes that demonstrate the fusing of technology with biology. Cronenberg’s general premise for most of his films consist of the distortion of reality and hallucinations; which is revealed through the abuse of science, technology, biology, and drug use. The new flesh theme is not only evident in Videodrome but also in several of his films.   
        A number of things were said to have influenced Cronenburg’s Videodrome. These include the urban legends of the 40’s World War era such as the concept of mind control and brain tumor-inducing  television waves. During the 70's and 80's, Cronenberg picked up American television signals late at night after the Canadian stations had gone off the air, and he worried he might see something disturbing not meant for public consumption. In addition, Cronenberg’s "Civic TV" was apparently based on an old Canadian station that actually did broadcast pornography.
     Punk icon, Debbie Harry of the new wave band Blondie stars as Nicki Brand, James Woods's sexually provocative, sadomasochistic girlfriend. Debbie changed her signature two toned hair for red for the role, and portrayed the character using dronish mannerisms, and a monotone voice. Which added to the character’s disturbing, erotic, detached persona.  
     In the film, Nicki introduces Max to sadomasochistic play, which includes having him continuously impale her earlobe with a rather large needle. Her other diversions include, branding herself with cigarette burns to her breast.    

When Nicki decides to pursue an audition for Videodrome, she delivers some noteworthy quotes;

“I was made for that show" she asserts.

She declares to Max,

 "It has something you don't have, it has a philosophy, and that is what makes it dangerous."

     Cronenberg has said in interviews, that the name Nicki Brand was influenced by the character’s taste for self-mutilation. “Nicki” (to nick or cut) and “Brand” was supposedly used to suggest (to brand or burn).   
     Debbie Harry has had a lengthy career in acting that spanned many television appearances and film roles. However, in my opinion her stand out roles were in cult movies. Such as 1980’s  Roadie, 1983’s Videodrome, Rock & Rule (animated voice over character), 1988’s Hairspray, 1990’s Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, 1993’s Body Bags and 1996’s Drop Dead Rock, which also starred fellow new waver, Adam Ant.
     James Woods portrayed his character with extreme intensity, and passion.  He used comedic sarcasm and snarkiness to lighten the heavy mood of the film. He convinced his audience that the head trip horror of his physical and psychological deterioration in which he endured was all too real. 
       The original synthesized score was composed for Videodrome by Cronenberg’s friend, Howard Shore, which, to spite having a rock star casted in it did not contain any rock and roll tracks. However, due to Videodrome’s cult status, and dark edgy cyberpunk undertones, it has had a lasting influence on rock music. Several bands ranging in genres have sampled the film; from metal, punk, and industrial, to EBM bands.
     Some of the bands, just to mention a few who have sampled the film include; Skinny Puppy, EMF, Slipknot, Meat Beat Manifesto, Front 242, Psychic TV, Dope on Plastic, The Klinik, Snog, Cyberaktif, Big Audio Dynamite, Bomb the Bass, Seba and Paradox.

Videodrome: WTF Moments:

• O’Blivion’s office is located at his charity, “The Cathode Ray Mission”, where the homeless are provided food, shelter, clothing, and marathon sessions of television viewing, you know the necessities of life. The mission is mysteriously ran by O’Blivion’s daughter, Bianca (Sonja Smits), whose aim is to contribute to her father’s vision of a world in which television replaces everyday life.

• Max’s torso transforms into a gaping hole that functions as a VCR, which I had initially mistaken for a “vajayjay”, AKA a vagina-type slit.

• Max must endure an additional gaping hole in his abdomen; which he plunges a handgun into in order to carry his “concealed weapon”. The gun drips an oozy substance whenever he pulls it out of his pouch.

• Breathing television sets, and videotapes that quiver and shake as if they were being stimulated.

• Throughout the film, Max is programmed, deprogrammed, and reprogramed with numerous pulsating inserted VHS tapes.

• Nicki appears to Max on television, in which the top of the set becomes a heaving eroticist zone that responds to his touch. Nicki’s lips engulf the TV frame, and develops into vortex protruding out of screen which envelopes Max.

• Nicki eagerly auditions for the Videodrome and never returns.

• Max takes refuge on a dilapidated boat, where Nicki appears to him on a TV set. She tells him he has weakened Videodrome, but in order to completely defeat it, he has to ascend to the next level and "leave the old flesh".

• During a climactic scene, a television set explodes and splatters bloody human intestines everywhere.

• The Videodrome program set takes place in a chamber that that is made up of a reddish-orange fleshy type substance, resembling the inside of a pumpkin.

• The film features an eyeglass company, “Spectacular Optical Corporation”, which on the surface is an eyeglasses company but is actually a guise for a NATO weapons manufacturer.

• Max is forced to wear cyber punk head gear resembling an old school hairdryer.

• Fatal brain tumors are given to "lowlifes" fixated on extreme sex and violence, as part of a crypto-government conspiracy.

• During a death scene at a trade show, a character is being gunned down, as this occurs his body erupts into cancer tumors emerging to the surface from out of his exposed insides.

• Max’s hand fuses with a gun, literally, forging a “flesh gun” or literally, a “hand gun".

• A villian’s hand fuses with a grenade, forming literally a "hand grenade." Which then blows him up!

• Max enlists the elderly, Masha (Lynne Gorman), a "feminist pornographer" to help him find out the secrets of Videodrome.

       Videodrome reminded me of several preceding films. Just to mention a few, the fusing, melting of flesh and body parts reminded me of 1989’s “High Society”.  Also, Videodrome was “Fifty Shades of Grey” minus death and hallucinations.                                                                                             
      Videodrome was ahead of its’ time in countless ways. Reflecting back on the film, the themes continue to be relevant today. Videodrome strangely projected the future of modern technology. The popularity of reality television, social media, and modern voyeurism, such as drones and computer videoing has blurred the borders of reality concerning man, and technology. If it weren’t for the box style television sets, VCR, and VHS references, one would not be able to determine the decade in which this film was produced.

     I found myself relating to Videodrome on many levels, in particular I have felt much like Max at times in my life, “a human VCR”. Being continuously programed and reprogramed. Or, it could be the fact that I’m such a fan of difficult to find cult movies, which remain on VHS format and are yet to be released in DVD, or blue ray format. Regardless, I don’t have to fret concerning Videodrome receiving a proper release. It has had several releases, which includes being released as part of the Criterion Collection, which includes many unreleased extras. These include the mini films featured in Videodrome, “Samurai Dreams”, and “Apollo & Dionysus”.

Lucy

                                                                       Videodrome Movie Trailer

United States Movie Poster

Italian Movie Poster

French Movie Poste