I watched eXistenZ and I liked it. 3/5
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eXistenZ (1999), directed by David Cronenberg, is a sci-fi film that leans heavily into the territory of body horror, blending the director’s usual fascination with technology, identity, and biological mutation. It’s a film that questions reality, taps into the anxieties of the virtual world, and constructs an unsettling narrative where the boundary between the organic and the mechanical is blurred. In many ways, eXistenZ is a quintessential Cronenberg film, delivering moments of dark intrigue, but it doesn’t always manage to stick the landing.
The plot of eXistenZ revolves around Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a brilliant game designer whose latest virtual reality game, “eXistenZ,” allows players to plug directly into their nervous system through organic game pods. After an attack on Allegra during a demonstration of the game, she escapes with marketing trainee Ted Pikul (Jude Law), and the two embark on a journey that constantly oscillates between the game world and reality. The narrative becomes a mind-bending maze of confusion, as Allegra and Ted struggle to distinguish between the real world and the virtual one, all the while navigating a conspiracy against the game.
Visually, eXistenZ carries the trademark grotesque aesthetic that Cronenberg is known for. The fleshy game pods—organic, pulsating devices that connect to people through “bio-ports” implanted into their bodies—are some of the most visceral and memorable elements of the film. The imagery is both uncomfortable and fascinating, eliciting a bodily response from the audience, which is exactly what Cronenberg excels at. These biomechanical inventions force a disturbing merging of flesh and technology, raising questions about the future of human evolution and our increasing reliance on virtual worlds.
Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a strong performance as Allegra Geller, portraying a character who is enigmatic and often distant, which serves to heighten the film’s overarching sense of paranoia. Jude Law’s Ted Pikul, on the other hand, functions as the audience’s surrogate, bewildered by the world of “eXistenZ” and reluctant to trust Allegra’s motives. His progression from hesitant participant to fully immersed player adds an additional layer to the narrative, although at times, his character feels underwritten compared to the complex Allegra.
One of the most compelling aspects of eXistenZ is the way it engages with the theme of simulated realities, a topic that was particularly prescient in the late 1990s, with other films like The Matrix exploring similar concepts. In Cronenberg’s world, the artificial reality isn’t just a backdrop for action or heroics—it becomes an existential trap. The film questions what it means to be real, and what happens when the line between the real and the simulated becomes indistinguishable. These philosophical undertones give eXistenZ a cerebral edge, though they aren’t always explored as thoroughly as they could be.
However, where eXistenZ stumbles is in its pacing and plot coherence. While the film’s disorienting structure is intentional, meant to reflect the ever-shifting nature of the game, it sometimes results in confusion rather than intrigue. The constant back-and-forth between the game world and reality, while thematically relevant, can become exhausting to follow. Additionally, the film’s reliance on narrative twists and its final reveal feels somewhat anticlimactic, leaving more questions than answers in its wake.
Despite its narrative shortcomings, eXistenZ is still an interesting exploration of virtual worlds, identity, and the body. It’s a film that revels in the grotesque and the bizarre, using these elements to question the nature of existence itself. Though not as strong as some of Cronenberg’s other works, it has enough moments of brilliance—both visually and conceptually—to warrant a viewing, especially for fans of the director’s previous films or those interested in cyberpunk-style meditations on reality.
Ultimately, eXistenZ is a film that offers more questions than answers. It’s not an easy watch, and its deliberate ambiguity may frustrate some viewers. But for those willing to embrace its disjointed, unsettling nature, it presents a world that is as fascinating as it is horrifying. While it doesn’t reach the heights of Cronenberg’s best films, it’s still a provocative entry in his filmography, earning a solid 3 out of 5 stars.