I’ve been dealing this week with what feels like an excess of energy, possibly brought on by Mountain Dew, the thought of classes starting next week, and excitement over my comic strips being published in a newspaper (I think the first issue came out today!), among other things. It’s this restless energy where I feel like I need to fight or have sex with something, and I cannot do either of these things. Instead, I am going to talk about Videodrome.

Why? Because this abundance of energy reminds me of a line, somewhat early in the film, spoken by Debbie Harry’s character Nicky Brand: “I live in a highly excited state of overstimulation.” That elegantly describes our life and times these days, eh?

Where should I begin? The little things like James Wood’s sleazy, confident swagger as Max Renn, the awesome character names like Professor Brian O’Blivion and Gary Convex, Rick Baker’s visceral special effects, the pulsing red glow of the Videodrome set, “long live the new flesh,” the pacing…heck, all of it is great. Videodrome is unquestionably David Cronenberg’s masterpiece, which says a lot considering the man has made plenty of great films.

Videodrome is easily one of my top three favorite films, and could possibly overtake Pi as my favorite, considering the absurd number of times I’ve watched it since getting it as a gift from a friend. It’s a lean film with no fat on it, especially as things start happening super-fast in the final act, it’s intelligent as well as visceral, it’s quotable, it’s fun to make people watch for the first time, and it’s just really entertaining.

It’s also clearly a big influence on my own work, more so than I think any other films, except maybe giant monster movies. A nice dose of sci fi body horror with a dash of sex and a bit of violence, right up my alley.

There’s so much more to it than these things of course, and it’s all been written about by better people than myself (the essays which come with the Criterion edition are FANTASTIC), like the way the Cathode Ray Mission building reminds me of a hobo-standard internet café, the above quote from Nicky Brand before we learn of her masochistic tendencies, the way the hallucinations become reality…well, just a lot of it seems to predict in a strange sideways fashion the way the internet is developing.

Now I want to watch it again. But I can’t, because I loaned my copy to a friend. Crap. No wait, isn’t it on Netflix now? YES.

Go. Watch it. This movie will immerse you in its strange world, and it will change you.

Long live the new flesh!

[Brett]