Crimes of the Future

David Cronenberg is the star of body horror of the last century, and he certainly deserves credit for his past films, but he's almost 80 now, and it's hard to tell if it's filmmaker burnout, senile dementia, or just a compulsive desire to put out tasteless dreck, but this is a huge bummer. I was expecting an original sci-fi world where organs would be cut by the hundreds, with a charismatic Viggo Mortensen and an overall point with a philosophical overlay, and instead I got the exact opposite of all of the above. The world is dysfunctional, Viggo is mediocre to bland, and the idea is simply disastrous, or rather, it’s not bad in itself, but the execution is. There's hardly any gore, which is already a complete stretch in this subgenre, and when it's present, it's shitty. Zero believability, cheap B-movie visuals, and a disregard for and mockery of human anatomy. Hard to describe disappointment. (30/06/2022)

While David Cronenberg's previous genre-diverse films seemed to exist in a complex and vibrant world, Crimes of the Future seems to exist in just three barracks surrounded by a vacuum. It does have thoughts and ideas, but the framework is so clumsily put together that few will be satisfied or surprised by the story this time. And while I understand that the budget was low and the pandemic situation affected the production, I still can't get over the fact that the film is more like an amateur theatre performance than the truly compelling piece of cinema we would like to see from this director. [KVIFF 2022] (06/07/2022)

Surgery is the new sex! Horror maestro David Cronenberg returns to the genre that made him famous (body horror) after a few years and creates an interestingly twisted world with a strong philosophical overlay, thoughtful dialogue, decent casting, a novel point and idea, and there are a few enjoyable disgusting bit. Again, people ran out of theaters in America, but this is again overhyped and definitely had more potential given the premise, but I liked it relatively. It's very strange though, with a touch of arthouse, a slower pace, and not many outright horror scenes, but the world itself managed to keep me glued to my seat and wondering what would come of it. Viggo Mortensen is very good, Léa Seydoux shows up naked so all is well, and Kristen Stewart has a smaller and very weird role. You can see Cronenberg's signature, some of the futuristic ideas deserve a chapter to themselves, and the whole organ swapping idea is impressive (the dissection of a small child is the most interesting, but the drill in the head and the hybrid with the ears are also cool). The guts and dissection are quite enjoyable, but there can't be much talk of atmosphere or proper gore. A strange film, hard to rate, there are things I enjoyed a lot, but the pacing could have been better and the horror side could have been given more space. For a fringe audience only. We are making art out of anarchy. Story 4/5. Action 2/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 4/5. 6/10. (23/06/2022)

A fascinatingly twisted world that I enjoyed watching, although the plot is far from "entertaining". It's a shame, because even in the world the story takes place, and in the themes it addresses, I can see the potential for a heightened viewer experience. Unfortunately, Cronenberg didn’t handle them in an attractive way. Stylish nastiness with potential drowned in boring dialogue. Overall, it could have been worse, but also much better. (21/06/2022)

Cronenberg, as I like and dislike him. Visually I found it as poor as his minimalist Spider, David doesn't even deliver atmosphere anymore, and the few bizarre sarcophagi are not enough. On the other hand, the microworld presented by the five main characters is so creepy that it's kind of fun to watch if you're in the right mood. You just feel like some creepy voyeur watching a couple of weirdos licking each other's bodily deformities through a keyhole. Here, for "licking" add groping abdomens, pulling out tumors, cutting into the skin and making a zipper on the abdominal incision (anyone heard of Videodrome?). Ultimately, the most entertaining part of the whole film is the pissed-off frustration of uninformed male and female viewers who leave during the screening because they were expecting "something nice" with Mortensen, and instead they see people pulling tattooed entrails out of their stomachs. David, that's why I still like you :o) (04/07/2022)