About me:I'm a lazy ba@£%rd who spends all his time watching DVDs, listening to music and getting pissed. So ...
Member since:05.03.2001
Reviews:34
Members who trust:7
Review rated by 8 Ciao members on average: helpful
This is a superb film. It is directed by David Cronenberg (Crash, Shivers, The Fly), and typically by the end of the film you're guaranteed to be scratching your head wondering what is going on!
The film is set in the future at a time when games consoles have been replaced by orgainic game modules (grown from amphibian eggs) that look like a bloated kidney and plug into the players spinal cord via a bioport. The module then transports you into a lifelike roleplaying game in network with others who are also plugged in. The latest of these games is eXistenZ and a small grouop of people have been invited to test the beta version. After an assasination attempt on the game's designer Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh), she and security guard Ted Pikul(Jude Law) are on the run and need to enter the game to make sure that it still works and this results in many plot twists and leaves you wondering which level reality is actually on.
The concept of humanity leaving reality and existing a computer generated virtual world has also been covered in other films, for example The Matrix, however, the two cannot really be compared as The Matrix is an action film while eXistenZ is much more thought provoking.
One of the highlights of the film for me was the futuristic gadgets (for example an organic gun that shoots human teath), which were a mixture of technology and organic matter. This is similar to a previous Cronenberg film Naked Lunch (if you think eXistenX is confusing wait 'til you see this!).
This is a thrilling story with amazing plot twists, sexual metaphor, and a clever twist at the end.
![Existenz [DVD] [1999]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78529516.jpg)
by (38%):
14.04.2001 16:01
I missed this film at the cinema, but I think you might just have convinced me to rent the video of it. Good review, well written. Thanks :-) sharon