It\u2019s fitting that the most iconic image from the films of David Cronenberg is the exploding head from Scanners <\/i>(1981). Cronenberg\u2019s stories contain so many complex ideas and themes that any single attempt to wrap one\u2019s head around them seems a risky prospect. And yet, the popular consensus tends to divide them into two basic categories: the body horror, and everything else.<\/p>\n
In anticipation of the recent 13-film retrospective of his films put on by Los Angeles\u2019s Beyond Fest<\/a>, I watched everything Cronenberg has directed (and read his one published novel) to find the common tendrils that run through them all, even those films considered outliers (or, if you will, mutations<\/i>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What follows is a complete rundown of as vast, complex, and consistent an oeuvre as exists within the last half-century of cinema.<\/span><\/p>\n Transfer<\/i><\/strong><\/a> (1966)<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sNCzbMwPwjY<\/p>\n While at the University of Toronto, Cronenberg switched majors from science to literature before finally making the jump to film \u2014 a fitting trajectory considering the themes that would run through his films, many of which are literary adaptations.<\/span><\/p>\n Those themes are present in his first student film, a comically exaggerated two-hander between a reclusive shrink hiding out in the middle of nowhere and the obsessed patient who tracks him down. Inspired by the experimental films of the New York underground, Transfer<\/i> is an assertive blast of surrealist farce. It\u2019s a tad grating, but it displays Cronenberg\u2019s innate skill as a filmmaker.<\/span><\/p>\n From the Drain<\/i><\/strong> (1967) (part 1<\/a> | part 2<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n Featuring similarly over-the-top performances, this grainy black-and-white short \u2014 which concerns two manic veterans of an unnamed war who meet in an empty bathtub in a decrepit hovel \u2014 grows increasingly unsettling, right up to its violent twist ending. Complete with a creature effect (a simple tendril slithering from a bath drain), it marks Cronenberg\u2019s first foray into horror and conspiracy thriller territory.<\/span><\/p>\n Stereo<\/i><\/strong><\/a> (1969)<\/span><\/p>\n Cronenberg made his feature debut with this hour-long, black-and-white, nearly silent film, a deliberate (and at times frustrating) look at the intersection of consciousness and sexuality. Taking place at The Academy of Erotic Inquiry, it concerns a group of volunteers who attempt to gain telepathic abilities through carnal exploration. <\/span><\/p>\n Although hard to follow, the film has a hypnotic quality, stemming in large part from its stark cinematography. (It really is a shame Cronenberg never shot another film in black-and-white.)<\/span><\/p>\n Crimes of the Future<\/i><\/strong><\/a> (1970)<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=i9tbuTOUvVU<\/p>\n Similarly silent save for sporadic narration, Crimes<\/i> is as cold and confounding as his previous effort, though the humor and plot are slightly more overt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Set at a dermatological clinic referred to as The House of Skin, amidst a future wasteland entirely devoid of adult females, the film introduces the theme of political division and subterfuge that would come to fore in later films.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSecret Weapons\u201d<\/strong> (1972)<\/a><\/span> \u2014 Programme X<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Before making the jump to \u201cmainstream\u201d films, Cronenberg continued to hone his skills on Canadian television, first with this 21-minute short for the anthology series Programme X<\/i>. Collaborating with writer Norman Snider (who would go on to co-write Dead Ringers<\/i>), Cronenberg delves further into complex sci-fi espionage. Despite its brief runtime, a slow pace and lack of closure keep this from being little more than a curiosity.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Lie Chair\u201d<\/strong> (1975)<\/a><\/span> \u2014 Peep Show<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe First Shorts<\/b><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\n
\nExperimental Films<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nTeleplays<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n