Film Review — Videodrome
★★★★☆
The CEO of a small transgressive TV station becomes obsessed with a broadcaster of snuff films, which may or may not be a front for a mind-control conspiracy.
Once described by Andy Warhol as A Clockwork Orange for the eighties, Videodrome is part of an unholy trifecta of movies along with Rabid and Scanners that cemented David Cronenberg as the king of the body horror genre. Still, there’s more to this than just its memorably grotesque visuals.
Playing with themes of cults, media manipulation, and mind control, Cronenberg weaves a provocative and intentionally unreliable narrative that indulges his now-famous infatuation with sex, violence, and the scary thin line between. James Woods brings his typical smarmy charms, while Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry’s red-haired sadomasochistic Nikki haunts the movie in her absence.
But the real star is the legendary Rick Baker, whose unforgettable practical effects work will forever change the way you look at a videotape, or your own abdomen.
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits
Cinematography: Mark Irwin
Music: Howard Shore
Running time: 89 mins
Release year: 1983
BBFC rating: 18 for strong sex, bloody violence, gore
