Review of Existenz

Introduction

Ok, this is a David Cronenberg film. Those of you who know that name will therefore probably know what to expect. Those who don`t will have to read on.

If I mention that he directed "Crash", "The Naked Lunch", "The Fly" (the 1986 version), "Videodrome" and "Scanners" you might be forming a picture. Cronenberg seems to excel with "weird" films.

Video

There`s something odd about the picture on this disc. The box says 1.85:1. But the picture doesn`t look like that. It looks like something along the lines of 1.75:1 (I don`t measure these things, I`m just guessing). And it`s non-anamorphic too. You`ll probably need to watch in in a zoom or smart mode on a widescreen TV to get it to look right. It`s quite bizarre. But then this is a Cronenberg film.

The quality of the transfer is good though, quite sharp, plenty of detail and even the darker scenes look good.

Audio

A DD 5.1 mix is provided which is good. The film is mostly dialogue but there are some nice squelchy and squishy sounds mixed in, and even a gun battle to give the surrounds some work. Not demo material but certainly adequate.

Features

It`s another jam packed R2 release. Not one, not two, but three commentaries to go along with the film ! The Cronenberg one will be of most interest to fans, there`s one from the photography director, and one from a special effects guy.

There`s also a 50 minute special effects documentary about the work of Carol Spier. Interesting if that`s your thing.

There`s also a trailer and an odd 10 minute ad for the Sega Dreamcast. Must be something to do with the film`s theme of "is it real or is it a game".

Conclusion

This was a very average film. The "is it real or is it a game" dead horse has been flogged too many times before (obvious comparisons that leap instantly to mind are The Matrix, and at least 2 episodes of Red Dwarf). Even a director like Cronenberg didn`t bring anything new to this. You shouldn`t be doing direct comparisons with "The Matrix" though as they are different types of film.

The film starts off at a snail`s pace and doesn`t really get going at all. There`s some wooden acting here (although it could be argued that as some of these people are characters in a game, this is intentional). The 2 lead characters sometimes rise above the "wooden" level, but not too often. Willem Dafoe is ok, but Ian Holm`s accent is terrible (although this is also allegedly intentional) !

Cronenberg fans will probably enjoy it (and will enjoy the commentary) but most people would probably be advised to steer clear. If you want to know what Cronenberg can do try Videodrome or Scanners instead.