Cronenberg's VR-Exploitation "eXistenZ" & Exploiting Crichton's "WestWorld" with "FutureWorld"

*Blog post started on December 21, 2020.

Regarded as a horror classic by some, this is a mess of a picture, but to see how they sweep it up is worth a view. Brooklyn PI Harold Angel is hired by the aloof and religious Louis Cyphre to find a crooner who skipped out on his fame and fortune arrangement just before WWII. Every time Angel gets a clue, a brutal off camera murder follows. Why he would introduce a 17 year-old Voodoo priestess to it is barely comprehend-able, especially with “Fight Club” parallels.

 Check out the visceral movie review for "Angel Heart" by visiting MainEventoftheDead.com.

From 13 days of work in a row to three days off this week (including Sunday), I am still trying to get my bearings. Eva The Queen Kitty is looking after me, which is the reason I give for why people say she has a resting bitch face, so that leads me to think I am an emotional wreck. If anything, I feel like I am on Zoloft. There are no worries, but no motivation. Perhaps a trip to my folks on Christmas Eve will get me excited. COVID had already ravaged the residence, so it should be safe.

I wish I could complain about stuff, aside from my PA wanting me to do a video conference for a physical exam (She could have responded to my cancellation reasoning with, I will not just give you your diabetes meds.). Anger would at least be an emotion. "Cyberpunk 2077" is fun enough, not too buggy on the PS4. If anything, I think the story is too tight. It is very difficult to freely break the law. Thus, the urge to go on a killing spree is hindered.

There is definitely an under lying aggression to me, it just is not anger. I think that is kind of zen when you think of all those kick ass Tibetan monks from Shaw Bros. films and Mr. Miyagi teaching LaRusso you learn how to fight so you do not need to fight. It definitely does not jive with nihilism.

I have just inspired myself to write a "Funny or Die" replacing Tyler Durden and the Narrator with the protagonists from "The Karate Kid". An improv team is what I need to sell my subtle art of talking too much.

I guess it is now obvious that I am just spending too much time in my head. This is the reason for revisiting "Angel Heart", a flick I watched during the best times of 2004. My brain was a wreck then, and it seemed to work out fine. The dilemma for Sunday became trying to find a Redbox movie that was not a cheap psychological drama or horror. Ironically, when I was going through my unwatched iTunes, David Cronenberg's "eXistenZ" was among them. It just means that I trust those ideas when it comes from Canada's Master of Horror.

 

eXistenZ (1999, 1:37)

Allegra Geller is considered by most to be the best video game designer since video games have become bio-technological. Her talent is so great, that competitors to her company think it would best serve them to have her eliminated. The first demonstration of her newest game, "eXistenZ" was infiltrated by an assassin who wounds Allegra and kills the host of the presentation just as people were being hooked up to the newest biopod. Only marketing representative in training, Ted Pikul, is quick to act and whisk Allegra from the chaos.

Paranoid, Allegra decides it is best to find friendly people of the grid to protect her and Pikul. With no means of contacting her, she will have the time to examine her game and see if the attack resulted in any damage to it. The difficulty in doing this is that she needs a friend to explore the game with. Pikul is the only person she can trust, but he is a bit paranoid of games that tap directly into the nervous systems of the players. He may also just be afraid of piercings since he does not have the input slot installed into his spine.

The conditions are less than ideal. Time is not on their side, and her newbie is obviously going to have difficulty determining what is real and only a game. But if the software is damaged, how will either of them truly understand their existence be it reality or existence spelled with a big X and Z.

Centered around video game consoles with the same texture and color of sex toys, "eXistenZ" must have been intended to be Cronenberg's spiritual successor to "Videodrome". Like the prior feature, it definitely feels like a product of its time, but when you consider what video games have become, it still resonates with today's audiences. This film is what every pre-Matrix internet film wanted to be, aside from also being PG-13.

This feature has some body horror elements, but not the make up effects that audiences had grown accustomed to with Cronenberg's works like "Videodrome", "Scanners", and "The Fly". There are plenty of revolting images like the mutant reptiles and amphibians that Jude Law has to eat in order to create a gun constructed of bone, but the true horror revolves around needing to connect umbilical chords from the console to the base of their spine. Can any video game be worth genuine trauma to play? I will say yes, but with 28 years of combat sport experience and clinical depression on top of that, I may be an exception.

The thing that would deter me from wanting to be essentially feeding my life force to a PlayStation is that the game "eXistenZ" leaves it users grounded to its rules. Pikul and Geller have to follow the dialogue trees to progress and the decisions are never as challenging as we hope. I would love to know how many hours of gaming the then 57 year-old director had to put in to know exactly how they work. It turns out as an anti-gaming theme because it shows some of us are so desperate to escape reality, that we will anchor ourselves to not needing to make tough decisions just to be somebody else.

The cast plays all there parts brilliantly, and with the exception of Jude Law's flat tone (at least he did not try to go full on American accent), every quirk is justified by the conclusion that is very reminiscent of the "Twilight Zone". It is almost a shame that Cronenberg has only written one other film since this feature.

If anything else is lacking, it might be action. This is a video game after all. I guess you can say that it emulates those from the horror genre before Capcom and Paul W.S. Anderson screwed up the "Resident Evil" franchise. You get to be disturbed, but the narrative lacks intensity for our characters. But, again, this is not really much of a stretch from where video games have ended up today, so you have to appreciate Cronenberg having his finger on the pulse.

With the lack of "Fangoria" worthy imagery, "eXistenZ" does not seem like your standard Cronenberg, but it still delivers a story that is right up his fans' alley. Add in a "Twilight Zone" vibe, it is surprisingly accessible. Society would probably benefit from a reissue of this feature just to stop and think about the technological escapism and where it may lead...limited dialogue selection.

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The original "Westworld" was 88 minutes. Because a sequel is meant to build upon the world of the previous feature, I can overlook this feature's extra 16 minutes.

Futureworld - The Standard for an Ill-Advised Sequel

 Steven Spielberg did not direct "Jaws 2". From a film "expert" standpoint, it easy to assume why. A good sequel does not change the original formula. Thus, it should essentially be the same movie, only better. How do you top "Jaws"?

A bad idea for a sequel comes when the formula is changed. It is forgivable to tweak the original's premise to further adapt beloved characters from the first film, but the feature still needs to be a copy of the original. Luke running from the Empire must be constant. So in "Jurassic Park" the dinosaurs going nuts need some build up.

It is easy to see why Spielberg took on "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" because dinosaurs are already nuts. This gave him a new idea to play with. Unfortunately, Spielberg must have failed to remember the sequel to Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park" prototype, "Westworld's" "Futureworld".

With so much money invested into the Delos resort, it would be foolish not to reopen the facility because of a singular robotic revolution that started in Westworld. The company swears nothing can go wrong, but they need some great publicity to assure those who can afford $12,000 a day that the attraction is safe.

Along with high-ranking Soviet and Japanese officials, Delos has invited America's premier TV personality, Tracy Ballard (Blythe Danner), and an investigative reporter, Chuck Browning (Peter Fonda), to prove that nothing negative will occur with their relaunch. Everything seems kosher, since they removed the human technicians with robots, but it all seems too perfect. There must be something sinister a foot. Can our journalists discover it, or will decadence or Delos consume them?

"Futureworld" lacks the charm of its predecessor. It is a B-movie about journalists like "The Manchurian Candidate" instead of a tale about a perfect world crumbling. There a a few interactions between our characters and the environment, and because humans and robots mingling together is what sold the first film, why would we return for a sequel where this is lacking?

We hardly get five minutes in any of the theme parks. If you have seen "Westworld", it is kind of a downer that our protagonists choose to have sex with each other rather than a robot.

I saw this feature in 2010, so I could not have known that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy were such fans of the franchise that they would successfully figure out how to manifest everything from this feature to work in the "Westworld" HBO series.

"Westworld" was a tacky premise, but was delivered and produced as a great sci-fi film (The 1970's may have been the golden era when you take "Silent Runnings" and "Logan's Run" into account.). Everything in the sequel, with the exception of brilliant CG, is incredibly tacky from sets to dialogue. Honestly, "Futureworld" is not bad for low-budget 70's fare, but it is a sequel to a classic which makes the Yul Brynner "Man in Black" dance dream the most redeeming thing about it.

"Futureworld" is a fine example of how not to make a sequel. Movies are not fan fiction. We do not want them to serve only as a setting for a story. If the original environments or characters that drew us to the first film are lacking, then you are better off writing a reboot for you own sake.

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"A24: Horror Goes Art House", GalaxyCon St. Louis 2025, and "Galaxy Warriors"

  

I Dig Crazy Flicks with @CatBusRuss

Episode 240: Skies of Fortune Presents: A24 - Horror Goes to the Arthouse

It was ⁠CatBusRuss⁠'s pleasure to be invited to be a panelist on ⁠Jess McCord⁠'s panel at ⁠GalaxyCon Des Moines⁠. The topic of said panel, ⁠A24⁠'s rich horror movie history and influence. But, perhaps, more importantly, is calling it "elevated horror" a good thing?

One half of the "⁠Skies of Fortune⁠" tabletop, role-playing game team put on quite a presentation, and must have his finger on the pulse of what nerds wants to chat about. The crowd of 40 people is not something a ⁠CatBus⁠ panel is accustomed to. In other words, if you have issues with the audio from the panel, that and a powerful air conditioning system are to blame.

Jess offers up clips and ⁠Joe Bob Briggs⁠ commentary to try and do away with the term of elevated horror. Russ is there to defend those who think certain horror movies are high brow, like A24 offerings, when compared to the horror movies that Gen-Xers and Millennials group up with. Our podcast host also offers reasons why arthouse does not equal box office since A24 has yet to distribute a feature that has made over 100 million dollars when other studios are desperate for one billion dollar box offices.

Elevated. Emo. Neuro-Spicy. After this panel, hopefully we can all determine what kind of horror A24 truly offers.

Bonus - 'Galaxy Warriors' & GalaxyCon St. Louis - Day 2

CatBusRuss⁠ was given the honor to be a panelist at the first ⁠GalaxyCon St. Louis⁠. For the second day of the convention, our podcast host is joined by '⁠Cinema Shitshow's' Nix Eclips⁠ to have another go at "⁠Ninety For Chill: The Panel⁠". And this time, they come sporting punch and pie.

Nix dedicated the day to worship at the altar of ⁠Bruce Campbell⁠, but the queue was so long that he tried to cut some deals with those stranded in the line to get him some merch. ⁠Russ⁠ on the other hand was able to finish much of his Christmas shopping, reconnecting with the associate producer of "⁠Galaxy Warriors⁠", and bugging "⁠KPop Demon Hunter's⁠" ⁠Danny Chung⁠ on behalf of his niece.

And of course, the two podcasters did check out some panels like another installment of the "⁠None of this Matters⁠" podcast and the psychological draw towards "⁠The Boys⁠". CatBus tells his tales of the day while trying to deal with the Cubs efforts in the final game of the NLDS.

Hopefully, the crowd was impressed enough to come to Day 3's "1985 Triple Threat Match". They will need it since it was scheduled in the "let's beat traffic time slot".

 

Follow me on Bluesky @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

"Evangelion 1.01: You Are (Not) Alone" & "Event Horizon"

 Am I crazy for entertaining the concept of reinventing the "Star Wars" trilogy? Trekkies gave into J.J. Abrams's concept and ended up embracing it, and the flaws of Lucas's scripts are quite prevalent.

Blasphemy. Well, we would all like to reboot the "Saga". No one can deny that, but when it comes to near perfection (with the exception of "Return of the Jedi"), why bother?

It is because we are starved for greatness and we will take our chances. That is why Hideaki Anno's reboot of "Evangelion" captured the world of anime's attention.

Shinji Ikari has been called to Tokyo-3 by his neglectful father Gendo. When he arrives, the city is under a military state of emergency and a battle with a giant monster ensues. After he is rescued by his chaperone, Lt. Col. Misato Katsuragi, he his escorted to Nerv's headquarters to find out his father's expectations. The primary one of these is for this 14 year-old to pilot a giant robot called Evangelion Unit 01 to defeat the monster.

 Should he fail, humanity is lost. But not being able to appreciate his own existence, why should Shinji care about the fate of mankind?

"Evangelion 1.01" is nearly identical in character design to the original television show, but it is far more than just a special edition of the first six episodes. This is a more concise version of the "Evangelion" story with an atmosphere that is more fitting of the dark conclusions of the initial series.

All of the mecha and kaiju have been visually upgraded and the theatrical budge is evident. Since budget held back the production quality of the first series, fans should definitely appreciate the upgrades. That is provided that they can get past the first two acts of the story being exactly like the first four episodes.

It can be frustrating that the "Rebuild of Evangelion's" story does not begin until act three, especially since the comic interactions between Shinji and the supporting cast are all but eliminated. The charm and optimism are removed, so those who did not appreciate the previous two endings that Anno had provided us, they may be left upset.

Those frustrations are worth enduring for the brilliant third act. The new vision and hints of what is coming up left me salivating for the film's sequel. On top of that, the action and drama sequences are greater than anything presented in the first half of the television series.

"Evangelion 1.01" is a great experience that promises even more to come. It provides incite into Anno's true vision that was confined to the restraints of 90's television. It is a darker journey, but well worth enduring for the reward of a new future for the franchise.

 

Rhb_RBS
 

 *Blog was post started on June 8, 2021.

Event Horizon - Inspiration for Gory Bastardized Remakes?

I am now on a leave of absence from my retail job, so I am acting like I have more energy. Too bad I am in the midst of a final 10-day work week. It might just be me feeling like I am on a winning streak. Dad already had some free VPN promos so I might have reduced my primary entertainment bill to just $85. That is for Internet and AEW Plus.

"American Gods" season 3 was concluded, so Starz is out of my streaming budget. Without Xfinity TV, my NJPW World subscription should get more use. Hulu is great for lunch breaks at work. HBO is still the best premium network, so I am not cutting that. Shudder is the only thing that I need to jump at adding. ESPN+ will be good for Euro 2020. It is tempting to just change the credit card numbers to my benefactor, but Experian says its good for my credit.

And my sports betting is getting back on track. If I learned anything after my earnings went from $600 to $400 is that the only blue I can trust are the Chicago Cubs. We could spin that into some ACAB humor, but I digress. Anyhow, frustration is the wrong way to react to this. The knowledge that my little brother has some losers (Toronto Maple Leafs) that he lovingly endures is just one more thing to bond over.

Enough of how I have been getting my introverted groove back, let us get into a baiting sub 100-minute movie review. This means I might need to listen to all of my friends' podcast, but do you really need an excuse to rewatch what maybe Paul W.S. Anderson's only classic feature on his resume?

"Event Horizon" is a 1990's horror classic, but I do not even know if it is Anderson's best movie. The man operates from derivatives, so nothing is ever expected of him. But, he is the only director that you expect cool 3-D from, so there is at least a niche he is filling and thus some talent. This leaves me to ponder if that was even present with his first American non-established IP film.

In 2040, the experimental spacecraft Event Horizon traveled to the orbit of Neptune to test its gravity drive. The intention of this was to create a mini black hole that would suck space time in allowing the craft to travel to a different location instantaneously. But the intentions of the craft were not made public, so all anyone is suppose to know is that the ship was lost. So it is quite the surprise for Captain Miller and the crew of the Lewis and Clark to find out that they are suppose to salvage this craft and rescue the crew seven years later.

The crew arrives at the craft to find it in a seemingly state of deep freeze. At subzero temperatures, surely the crew is dead, but life form readings are detectable through out the ship. As the crew inspects the ship, one of them, Justin, tries to turn the power back on. When this occurs, he seems to be sucked into the gravity drive and the accompanying power surge cause a breach of the Clark's hull. To survive, the entire crew has to board the Event Horizon while they wait on repairs to the ship that got them there.

Justin is essentially spat out of the gravity drive in a catatonic state. His rescuer describes the incident to Miller, but his believability is immediately questioned by Dr. Weir. Weir is accompanying the Clark's crew since he was one of the scientist who designed the ship. Logic and physics are soon thrown out the window as other crew members, including Miller, start seeing what can only be considered hallucinations. Miller's lieutenant has a theory. This theory is that whatever the life readings are must be creating these experiences.

Once Justin awakens only to soon enter an air lock without a spacesuit to run from the darkness he saw, surviving becomes paramount to actually finding out what happened. Too bad Dr. Weir does not see it that way.

My synopsis for "Event Horizon" may have excluded the pitch for this feature: Spaceship returns from hell. With that said, going with a gothic horror approach to the premise is unique when you consider that the video game "Doom" is very similar. Horror was on a downturn in the mid 90's as we recovered from 80's slasher fatigue, so this was a brave 60 million dollar gamble on the "Mortal Kombat" director. The initial loss was 20 million, but after home release, it is surprising that there were not attempts to capitalize on the IP.

In the end, the movie ended up managing to be a hit in some form, and that tends to indicate great quality. That quality is provided by the cast and script. Anderson's direction is adequate, but there are not many set pieces that show his strengths when it comes to directing. If anything, it seems to me that the off-and-on auteur can only see in 3-D. I do not find this to be a weakness though when you take in to account how his "Resident Evil" franchise was able to have three additional sequels solely because of 3-D filmmaking's popularity. A 3-D re-release with some polished computer-generated effects would be worth telling streamers to bugger off.

I implied that the special effects are not great when it comes to the CG. They may have been great for the time, but like "Mortal Kombat", FDR/HDR does not do them any favor.

If there was one more flaw, it is the pacing. This is gothic horror on a spaceship which had been done before in the greater classic, "Alien". When you move from one scene to the next without anytime to revel in the horror of the situation, you are watching for the cool suggestive imagery of hell instead of being at the edge of your seat. This is primarily the reason that I am not going to declare this feature to be Anderson's best. I am leaning towards the first "Resident Evil".

As I discussed with Andrew Tiede on NinetyForChill - The Podcast, Anderson seems to have an abundance of cool premises like Ivan Reitman when it comes to talented actors. They are really cannot miss ideas and as long as you catch it all on the frame, it should turn out alright. Unlike Reitman, the script can be lacking. Anderson can make everything look cool enough that you at least have something that can be on mute that fits in a lowly Downstate Illinois dance club. You cannot say that about "Twins".

Returning to the gothic horror elements, was this the feature to inspire the Dark Castle remakes of the late 90's and early 00's? This can be a goreless feature, apart from the air lock scene, but a lot of the films fans are there for the gory sets and eyeball removal. "Alien" was subtle with its gore being limited to the chestbuster. Did Dark Castle see this feature and just pick up on how the feature's devotees talk about the gore? Is this why we have "House on Haunted Hill" and "House of Wax" remakes that lack all of the charm of their predecessors?

"Event Horizon" is a film that had a greater impact than its box office indicates. It is a fun and entertaining bit of horror that has become more camp than it is scary. Too bad that any horror flick between this and torture porn strives to be this film because the hole it started to fill is still quite a void.

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The "Best of the Best" Eric Roberts's Love Letters & 19th Century Tales of Vengeance

  

I Dig Crazy Flicks with @CatBusRuss

Episode 238: 'Best of the Best' with Atlanta Film Chat's Chuck Thomas

After the small audience at the Indiana Comic Convention "⁠Ninety For Chill: The Panel⁠", circumstances prevented screenwriter ⁠Chuck Thomas⁠ from "⁠Atlanta Film Chat⁠" meeting with ⁠CatBusRuss⁠ for a panel at ⁠ATL Comic Convention⁠.Russ still wanted a chance to chat with one of Atlanta's best movie podcasters. So, it is only fitting for Chuck's cinematic wisdom to select a feature that fits the "⁠Ninety For Chill⁠" parameters and star an actor with quite the outrageous career, ⁠Eric Roberts⁠. Throw in ⁠James Earl Jones⁠ and ⁠Chris Penn⁠, and you have to call this a crazy flick. This film is Taekwondo's answer to Karate's box office dominance, 1989's "⁠Best of the Best⁠".

These two podcasters had a ball to start since ⁠Chuck⁠ wanted to find out about what he may have missed from the convention, and ⁠Russ⁠ was fascinated by his guest's PROPER football scarf selection. It serves as a preview of what will become of this year's Devil's Night's podcast with the cast and creator of "⁠The Crow⁠". With so many similar interests, the language is a lot looser than usual, so ear muffs for the kids, please.

Despite the similarities of these talking heads, CatBus was not impressed by this feature. It may have brought up past trauma from "⁠Over the Top⁠". But again, Chuck has a great mind for movies, and like our host, raised on "⁠Mystery Science Theater 3000⁠". Thus, it may not be too challenging to turn Russ's opinion around on the first chapter of ⁠Phillip Rhee⁠'s franchise.

Episode 239 - Josh Nealis's 19th Century Vengeance Double Feature: The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) & Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter (2012)

Comic book writer and novelist ⁠Josh Nealis⁠ is on a virtual promotional tour for his latest book, "Cocaine-Stripper Stronghold: Issue 2", so a podcast called "⁠I Dig Crazy Flicks⁠" seems an obvious production to reach out to. His project's wild premise makes him seem like the ideal guest for ⁠CatBusRuss⁠, but can these two demented minds talk about films that can reach the lofty expectations they carry with themselves?

Josh is obviously a passionate man, and that took priority when he offered the podcast's host one of his favorite films, 2002's "⁠The Count of Monte Cristo⁠", ⁠Alexandre Dumas⁠'s tale of long-gestating revenge in post Napoleonic France. The film has many supporters, but it is a half hour too long for "⁠Ninety For Chill⁠" and is pretty grounded in the historic environment. Director ⁠Kevin Reynolds⁠ may have given us "⁠Waterworld⁠", but this podcast needs some insane idea(s) like that Kevin Costner flick to work.

⁠Russ⁠ still has his skills that will allow anyone to talk about any movie they want on the podcast, so he decided to offer up a movie with similar themes, but with monsters and a manageable runtime. Someday, he would love to discuss ⁠Timur Bekmambetov⁠'s Russian action-monster movie hybrids that got him to the Stateside attention, but "⁠Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter⁠" may be a great jumping off point to this director's filmography.

CatBusRuss met the founder of ⁠Cutthroat Comics & Publishing⁠ at ⁠Capital City Comic Con 2025⁠ in Lansing, Michigan. Josh's table on artist alley featured comic books and novels with titles that will grab your attention like "Pedoman and Kid Friendly" and "Stuffed Squirrels & Porcelain Angels", so our host could not resist talking shop with this talent. Comics were bought and information was exchanged. And now its Russ's turn to make something from this new friendship.

 

Follow me on Bluesky @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.