Videodrome (2014)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Best movie ever!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

"Videodrome" has a lot of small elements with potential, but it never develops any of them into a worthwhile payoff. Some viewers might be dazzled if it's their first time ever seeing a movie that isn't 100% Hollywood clichés, but if you want a memorable story, good characters, or a powerful experience, Videodrome will be a waste of time. Even if we set aside characters & story, this film simply fails to be exciting or fun unless you are very easily impressed. Given this flick's overblown reputation, I guess there are a lot of easily-impressed people out there.Many people consider this film shocking and dark, but it simply isn't! All the "gory" or "twisted" scenes are either lightweight or silly- looking. James Woods discovers a secret TV broadcast of torture scenes called Videodrome. The characters never shut up about how twisted & violent these scenes are, but they look like every amateur torture scene from a zero-budget movie. It's just some guy lightly smacking a toy "whip" against a woman's ribs, & then she vaguely flinches in the wrong direction. There are also some incredibly boring "S&M" scenes which had me laughing because they were so dull & tame, yet Cronenberg gave them huge dramatic emphasis like they were totally edgy.People also LOVE to call this film "prescient," but the social commentary just amounts to clichés about how TV controls people & can be a propaganda tool. These ideas had already been around for decades. If anything, the film's themes are downright conservative, especially with its almost 1950s-esque fear of sex & violence!Sure, the film belabors some "creepy" imagery, but all of this is frankly cartoonish & wacky instead of disturbing. You'll find more disturbing imagery in an episode of Ren & Stimpy.Returning to plot and characters: This movie halfway develops LOTS of ideas, then just fails to deliver on anything. The plot starts off as social commentary, then forgets about this completely. James Woods has a friend named Masha who gets just enough screen time to feel tedious, then abruptly disappears from the story. The film heads in a surreal, otherworldly direction, then has a clichéd third act where James Woods just has to kill some paper-thin bad guy who wants to rule the world.James Woods as Max Renn does an OK job in the lead role, but his character never develops; calling him 2-dimensional feels like an overstatement. Max' buddy Harlan is quirky, but the actor fails ridiculously any time he has to emote. The women in the film are HORRIBLY directed: every single one of them is stilted & unnatural. Sonja Smitts and Debbie Harry share the gimmick of talking... really... REALLLLLY... slowly, because Cronenberg thought this sounded dramatic. It doesn't. Neither of them ever emote, unless you count the same exact head-bobbling movement Cronenberg (that creative genius) had them do. This is a huge problem when they both have such important characters with heavy screen time!The film has a villain who is never threatening, compelling, or interesting. He is supposed to be a powerful corporate executive, but he has NONE of the strength or charisma such a man would need. He acts more like a manager at a shoe store or something. This is also a problem, since we're supposed to take him seriously as a threat.And then there are minor characters like Masha, played by Lynne Gorman. Gorman talks and talks for way too long, and she never acts. She just says her lines in a ridiculous vaguely foreign-y accent. This might have sounded cool and dramatic in the '50s, but in the '80s it's just plain stupid and laughable.When I saw all these shoddy details piling up, I only hoped that Videodrome would end on a comedic note, with a self-aware punchline recognizing how stupid it was. Perhaps the whole thing would be a satire on the scifi trends of the '80s! But no, the film ends with no irony, no energy, nothing to make its 90-minute runtime worthwhile to anyone who isn't easily-impressed.

Wow! After the highs of Scanners, Cronenberg delivers a much different movie in which Baker's special effects merely complement the story. It's certainly one of Cronenberg's weirdest movies, considering that it involves kinky sex, bizarre hallucinations, and a national conspiracy to control the public. Yet these factors and more combine to make VIDEODROME a unique, compelling, and ultimately disturbing movie with a wonderful premise.James Woods is on top form once again (does this man ever give a bad performance?) as the seedy boss of a cable show who's always looking for new kicks. In this day and age, softcore pornography isn't enough and Woods wants something harder. Into his life comes the alluring Debbie Harry, who seduces him by stubbing out a cigarette on her breast. However, soon she is gone again and Woods is left alone in his apartment to become obsessed and hypnotised by the disturbing video tapes he has in his possession.The first notable special effect shows a video cassette pulsating and is completely shocking and unexpected. Things get more and more elaborate from here. Woods' television set becomes a living, breathing organism and he manages to stick his head through the screen before waking up the next morning, his mind a mess. Throughout the film, wilder things happen, like Woods sticking a gun and then a tape into a cavity in his stomach. In the end it turns out that it's all part of a plan for public domination and that Woods is a test subject.There are some great characters in this film to support the excellent Woods in his lead. I especially liked Brian O'Blivion, a character who communicates only through the television screen. Elsewhere we have a nerdish associate of Woods, a pushy secretary, and the creepy proprietor of the show. Things culminate in some astonishing bloody scenes at the end which are often jaw-dropping. Seen today, Cronenberg's film seems quite prophetic in detailing how television can be used to control a nation and the importance it plays in our lives. The idea is sound and if viewers can get over the abstract, complex nature of the film then I'm sure they'll find themselves enjoying it. VIDEODROME is certainly a clever, shocking and disturbing horror movie with an original idea and fine execution from the master of the grotesque.

Videodrome is by far one of the most original, complex, and freakiest movies I have ever seen. Possibly even the goriest. At the time of its release (1983), it was a miserable failure at the box office, and for one clear reason: This movie was incredibly too far ahead of its time. Incredibly far! I think it was so far ahead of its time, that its true audience wasn't even born yet. It's not truly a bad thing, as this has created a cult following over the years, and perhaps this has proved our director David Cronenberg as somewhat a master of something more important then making money, and that is making a great movie. Indeed, we will never see anything even close to a film like this being made again, or even a reboot ( which has been on the back burner for years. Keep delaying it, Krugar, it doesn't need it!) Cronenberg is an insanely talented man, and when it comes to violence in films, fans of his work will know he does not f**k around, so the squeamish can easily be discarded from viewing his stuff. And if you are squeamish, stay away from this movie. We are talking flesh guns, tumor bullets, and outdated video cassettes inserted into giant chest cavities. Think you can handle it? James Woods ( usually taking on roles of the bad ass) plays Max Wrenn, and he runs an independent cable channel that connects his viewers with some unusual programming. He's looking for some new material for Channel 83, and he thinks he's found it, via a show called Videodrome, which is transmitted through an unknown signal from an unknown origin. ( This is why you don't torque with the unknown!) After catching a taste of this show, Max gets in touch with a source that has connections with the porn industry, where he is strongly cautioned to stay away from Videodrome. He is told that this is not a show, that it is real, and what he sees on this show is really happening. What exactly is this show? Disturbing images of torture, women being brutally beaten on, raped, killed...still think you can handle it??? The jaw dropping content just leaves you picking it up off the floor right to the very end, as things just become increasingly worse and worse for Max. He learns, all too late, that he indeed was not watching a show called Videodrome...that there was a hidden signal behind "watching" this show that he has been exposed to, which has altered the way he thinks, acts, and sees things. He is developing a bizarre brain tumor, and it seems to be shutting down his old brain, creating a new brain, and it creating a vertical slit from his chest down to his belly, where video cassettes are inserted, and program his new brain to become an assassin for Videodrome beyond his will. Think you've heard the worst? His life alters, as he was warned that Videodrome has a philosophy. ( The philosophy is this: Television is reality, and reality is less then television. Wrap your thoughts around that!). What is so downright intriguing about this movie, is how much thought, creativity, and time was spent into this. By the time you are done watching it, you are left with the remaining years of your life to interpret what you saw. This movie has left me pondering unanswered questions over the years. Videodrome will not waste a second explaining to you, for example, about how it works, or what exactly it is. We are left to our own devices to figure that out for ourselves. I have watched this movie over and over, know it forward and backward, and I still can't tell you everything about it. What exactly is the war of North America? How will it be fought in the arena of Videodrome? What exactly is the New Flesh? What is that unknown wind that emerges when Max "opens up"? By trial and error, Max learns that he can use his own body as a weapon, and he will do his best to fight Videodrome with his own war...the Death To Videodrome war, after talking to Bianca O'Blivion ( the only likable character in the movie, in my opinion). Biancas father was killed after his creation of Videodrome was hijacked. It's never explained what Brian O'Blivions purposes were with Videodrome, but it does not appear he meant any harm through it, as he and his daughter ran a service that helped the homeless. After Videodrome was stolen from him, he was killed off, and they want to rub out the only remaining connection to Videodrome, and that's through Bianca. Bianca talks Max out of it, and he learns to use his body as weapon against the bad guys once and for all. For its time, Videodrome is rewarded for not relying on a computer graphics for its use of violence. ( And even if you have a strong stomach, NOTHING is going to prepare you for the scene when Barrys head comes apart at the seams. Look closely, you can see the gums!) Beyond all the insanity and graphic violence, there is an underlying message that I believe this film tries to get across. The very unique thing about this movie, is how each person will see it differently, and even how each reviewer will review it from another aspect that someone else wouldn't have thought of. Just remember the two key points to this movie, and that's (1) technology and (2) global mind control. There's a third key point too, but I will leave that to you to figure out what it is.

Videodrome doesn't have the same well-written characters that The Fly (1986) did but it still has the power to draw us in due to its disturbing visuals and great themes.After a television executive searches for an intense new program for his TV network, he discovers a VHS tape called "Videodrome" which causes him to undergo a series of bizarre hallucinations.Sometimes, this movie becomes too disgusting to watch (which is a good thing) and for good reasons too because the visuals are very disturbing and well-done. The movie tends to surprise us with its visuals too when we're least expecting it which makes its scenes work even better.This also has great acting from James Woods. All of the other actors were great too but James Woods was really the only one who I felt stood out in the movie. However, his great performance was enough to carry the movie.This movie has a chilling message which becomes more powerful today seeing as how technology keeps on advancing which leads to explicit and graphic entertainment rise.This is still a great movie but I feel that The Fly is a better movie than this. The reason I think so is because The Fly contained well-written characters. I couldn't really connect with Max Renn as I did with Seth Brundle. However, this shouldn't bother you too much if you don't mind lack of character development. However, this is why I feel that The Fly is a little better.In conclusion, this is a disturbing movie which contains a deep message. It gives audiences some disturbing things to think about. This is an amazing movie and all. I just think that The Fly is better because of its character development. However, you should still see this one too.