eXistenZ is a clever science fiction thriller
from the oddball mind of Canadian director David Cronenberg. Dave
clearly didn't have much of a production budget (you won't see
much in the way of impressive sets or over-the-top special effects),
but he wrote a very interesting script and got a good cast, fronted
by Jude Law (Gattaca, The Talented Mr. Ripley) and Jennifer Jason
Leigh.
It's a film about virtual reality. In the not-so-distant future, scientists formulate an organic module that plugs into your spinal column and takes you into a fully interactive role playing game realm. Within this realm, you can plug into sub-levels of virtual reality, and eventually we lose track of where we started from. Is it real or is it just another level of the game?
Cronenberg was also inspired by the real-life story of author Salmon Rushdie and the notion that new ideas can be perceived as being so threatening that those who dare to perpetuate them are sometimes marked for death and have to go into hiding to survive. (Maybe after making "Crash", Cronenberg can relate.) In the movie, someone is out to get the creator of the latest game module. Are they anti-VR fanatics, or corporate spies, or is it all just a game scenario?
It all goes to show how a guy with a pad of writing paper and a pencil can succeed where $75 million in special effects can fail. Of course, you have to play along and be in the mood for a more cerebral type of moviegoing experience. This sticky bun doesn't have all of the sugar (i.e. explosions & demolition & such...) that we've come to expect in a sci fi thriller, but it's got more quality protein... if you can finish it.