VIDEODROME

By Jimmy Squarejaw
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Though not the most violent movie ever made I feel VIDEODROME is a significant movie regarding the idea of snuff films and how the phenomenon has crawled out of the gutter and into the eager minds of the 80’s.  David Cronenberg is one of my favorite writers and directors who has an impressive oeuvre of multi-layered horror movies that require multiple viewings and critical thinking-and I bet he has never muttered the words, “I’m going to make a horror movie” before shelling out a story.  VIDEODROME is now 30 thirty years old and Cronenberg saw people’s attraction to mindless, over the top violence being portrayed in popular culture. But VIDEODROME took all of the frills out of say Rambo, and instead presented violence and torture as simple, bleak, and unremarkable but it still has the power to captivate audiences.  Flash forward thirty years and think of the seething masses glued to a computer screen or television screen watching hours of torture porn, simulated snuff clips, fights on reality television, and real clips of people being tortured or killed on sites like rotten.com or mentalzero.com-Cronenberg seems revelatory in hindsight.

VIDEODROME follows the gradual mental breakdown of Max Renn, played confidently by the always snarky James Woods, brought on by violent hallucinations suffered after watching pirated clips of a show called Videodrome that Renn’s hacker buddy picked up on from a satellite feed.  The Videodrome clips are a no plot video segment of people being tortured and we come to learn was made to be a new kind of television experience that, according to it’s creator Professor Brian Oblivion, will eventually redefine and overtake the television experience.  Without going into a three page long synopsis about the plot, I’ll just say treachery is rife in VIDEODROME and after a few plot twists the level of paranoia grows to an unbearable feeling and crescendos nicely.  

The special effects, like in every Cronenberg movie made in the late 70’s and 80’s, are amazing and are crucial in conveying the character of Max Renn’s mental psychosis while the Videodrome inflicted tumor grows in his head.  The insane hallucinations of exploding tumor people, pulsating videotapes, growing televisions, a mutant tumor hand and a vagina slit in Max’s stomach that he feeds a gun to are all amazing to watch and without the special effects of Rick Baker, who knows how VIDEODROME would have ended up visually.  I also love the music to VIDEODROME.  It’s brooding, ominous, and creates a continual tense atmosphere that becomes a visceral character itself in the movie.  The music as well as the whole look of the movie is very 80’s but in the same regard it’s very timeless and is only inhibited by the technology used and shown on screen.  The duality of VIDEODROME is present in almost every aspect.    

There is so much to evaluate as a viewer of VIDEODROME. I could argue that Cronenberg took VIDEODROME to its limits with subject matter, but my desensitized mind also could say this could have been a whole hell of a lot darker but would that make it a better movie?  Like every Cronenberg movie I’ve watched I’m always left with a lot of questions and no sense of satisfaction even after multiple viewings  - and I love that about David Cronenberg’s flicks.   Though this is lighter fare for the Sunday Snuff viewer however the subjective response to it’s themes might be a step up for the regular Sunday Snuff viewer.

Blake and Jimmy’s Extreme-O-Gauge!

Violence/Gore: 3 out of 5, lots of good 80’s effects.

Rape: 0 out of 0, just tied up chicks getting whipped- no penetration.

Animal Death: 0 out of 0, ASPCA approved.

Necrophilia: 0 out of 0, 

Torture: 3 out of 5, not overt but that’s what makes the scenes powerful.

Overall Movie: 5 out of 5, watch this now.