Videodrome (1983)

There was a time when the influence of television on society was a concern.  I have always believed a lot of that concern was from a movie industry that was scared that people would stop coming to theaters to deal with unruly kids, sticky floors and stale popcorn when they could do the same at home for free.  However, from its inception forward there were dire warnings of its deleterious effects on society.  Ray Bradbury wrote short stories and an entire novel about it, there were horror movies like The Twonky that featured a literal killer television and all sorts of criticism throughout the mediums first five decades against parents that left their children to be babysat by the boob tube. 

Then along came the internet to take that focus off of television and begin the whole cycle anew.  Every single thing that was said about television was said about the internet.  There are again fears that people will stop going to theaters but that is less the fault of streaming or smartphones and more the quality of movies and the expense of seeing them in a theater.  Where in the 1950s Hollywood decided to innovate to give audiences a reason to leave their homes the only things most cinemas these offer are bland meals and overpriced drinks.  30 years on, the internet is still treated like a venomous snake, and like television before it the web is blamed for making the industrial world "soft".  Thus, even though Videodrome hit theaters long before the Worldwide Web was made public, the proliferation of influencers and generative AI still makes the movie feel strangely relevant. 

Max Renn (James Woods) is the president of Civic TV, a community access station in Toronto that provides viewers with soft-core pornography and lurid violent content.  While looking for something stronger than their usual content his assistant Harlan (Peter Dvorsky) tunes into a pirate transmission called Videodrome that features nothing except torture and killing.  While participating in a television interview Max falls for radio host Nicki Brand (Debbie Harry) who quickly becomes enamored with the show as it appeals to her own extreme appetites.

Max tries to track down the source and begins to find out some strange things through is contact Masha (Lynne Gorman).  It appears that what is on the screen may not be fake and that it also may have some connection to a cult leader named Brian O'Blivion (Jack Creley), whose daughter Bianca (Sonja Smits) is now in charge of his Cathode Ray Mission.  The O'Blivions believe in the evolution of humanity through television and it appears that former associates have taken things a step further in hopes of bringing about changes they want to see in society.  Renn soon finds himself the unwitting pawn between the makers of Videodrome and Bianca O'Blivion while he also finds himself becoming something more than human.

Despite their strange plots and disturbing imagery the majority of David Cronenberg's work prior to the mainstream breakthrough of The Fly was straightforward.  Videodrome is on a different level, having its own strange philosophy of metamorphosis and what humans are becoming while presenting a story line that requires the viewer to accept that a good portion of what is happening may or may not be reality.  Some of the more outlandish scenes that one could be sure are hallucinations still appear to be witnessed by others, just to what extent one is never sure.  There are no reassurances that what Renn is seeing isn't real, although in a number of cases it has to be accepted as they are things that physically cannot happen, such as his frequent sadomasochistic liaisons with the television image of Nicki through the device itself. 

This does involve many of Cronenberg's more striking moments, such as a vaginal opening in the chest that allows for the insertion of video cassettes (Betamax of all things) for programming of a subject and a bio-mechanical gun that shoots tumors.  What it doesn't include is a comfortable story or wrap-up, and that is most likely why this failed despite throwing a bunch of money at Cronenberg after the surprise success of Scanners.  Many of his movies after this have been just as disturbing in their own way but this is the only one that truly challenges the viewers' perceptions, although eXistenZ certainly tried.  

For his part James Woods gives one of his better performances, which should be no surprise as he always does sleazy well.  Debbie Harry is one of those few rock stars that could have had a more successful acting career if that is what she wanted to pursue, and in fact she was hired for her performance in a previous film rather than stunt casting.  Everyone else is there to move things along. 

As nice as the new restored prints are Videodrome always benefitted from its dirty, washed-out look that VHS only enhanced.  It is weird not seeing this movie in as grimy a state as I remember, even with original DVD issues.  Also, it turns out there was so much more that Cronenberg wanted to include, but Rick Baker and his crew either did not have the money to accomplish or the technology at the time to make it believable.  If there were ever to be a remake of this, and hopefully it would be Cronenberg to do it, I would hope the point would be to restore these scenes as well as other parts of the narrative that were excised for time or to avoid censorship.  There would have to be some adjustments for the modern world but, although the technology has changed, much of what Cronenberg was getting at in this movie hasn't changed. 

Videodrome (1983)

Time: 87 minutes

Starring: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits

Director: David Cronenberg