EXistenZ
Encyclopedia
eXistenZ is a 1999 body horror
/science fiction
film by Canadian
director David Cronenberg
. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh
and Jude Law
.
As in Videodrome
, Cronenberg gives his psychological
statement about how humans react and interact with the technologies that surround them. In this case, the world of video games.
András Hámori and Róbert Lantos, the two producers of the film (who are both of Hungarian
origin) said in an interview that they intentionally hid a pun in the title: "isten" is the word for "god
" in Hungarian
.
game consoles known as "game pods" have replaced electronic ones. The pods are attached to "bio-ports", outlets inserted at players' spines, through umbilical cord
s. Two game companies, Antenna Research and Cortical Systematics, compete against each other. In addition, a group of "realists" fights both companies to prevent the "deforming" of reality.
Antenna Research's Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh
), the greatest game designer in the world, is testing her latest virtual reality
game, eXistenZ, with a focus group at a seminar. She is shot in the shoulder by an assassin named Noel Dichter (Kris Lemche
) with an organic pistol (the weapon on the poster), which is undetectable by security. As Dichter is gunned down by the security team, security guard (and marketing
trainee) Ted Pikul (Jude Law
), rushes to Geller and escorts her outside.
Allegra discovers that her pod, which contains the only copy of the eXistenZ game, may have been damaged due to an "UmbyCord" being ripped out as the game was being downloaded. To test it, she must plug into the game in tandem with another player that she can trust, and talks a reluctant Pikul into installing a bio-port in his own body so he can play the game with her. They head to a gas station run by a black marketeer named Gas (Willem Dafoe
) to get it installed. Pikul at first objects due to a phobia about "surgical penetration," but eventually gives in. Gas deliberately installs a faulty bio-port and the game pod is damaged. Gas (with a shotgun in hand) reveals that he is going to kill Allegra for the bounty on her head, but Pikul shoots him with the rivet gun used to install the port.
The pair make their way to a former ski lodge used by Allegra's mentor, Kiri Vinokur (Ian Holm
). He and his assistant repair the damaged pod and give Pikul a new bio-port. Inside the game, Pikul realizes that it is hard to tell whether his or Allegra's actions are their own intentions or the game's. When they meet D'Arcy Nader (Robert A. Silverman
), a video game shop owner, Pikul speaks rudely to him, but then expresses surprise at his own rudeness. Allegra informs him that it was the doing of his game character.
Reality becomes more distorted when they use new micro pods given to them by Nader, and gain new identities as workers at a game pod factory. There, they meet Yevgeny Nourish (Don McKellar
), who claims to be their contact in the Realist underworld. Nourish recommends that Pikul order the special for lunch at a Chinese restaurant near the factory. Once in the restaurant, Pikul "pauses" the game in order to get back to the real world, but finds out that he is unable to distinguish reality from illusion. Back in the restaurant, Pikul develops an urge to eat the unappetizing special, which turns out to be an assortment of cooked mutant animals. Pikul constructs a familiar object from the inedible parts—the pistol used to shoot Allegra. He points it at her as a joke, but then Nourish identifies their waiter (Oscar Hsu) as an enemy and gets Pikul to shoot him instead. In keeping with the game reality, the other patrons of the restaurant appear more frozen than shocked, and return to their meals when Pikul tells them it was a simple misunderstanding about the bill. When the pair return to the game store, Hugo Carlaw (Callum Keith Rennie
) informs them that Nourish is actually a double agent for Cortical Systematics, and the waiter whom Pikul shot was the actual contact. The next day at the factory, the two plan to sabotage all the game pods in the factory by plugging into a diseased pod. When Allegra becomes infected, Pikul frees her by cutting the umbycord. Allegra almost bleeds to death until Nourish shows up again with a flame thrower, directing it at the diseased pod. The pod bursts, releasing deadly spores. Before leaving, Allegra stabs Nourish in the back with a knife.
Allegra and Pikul suddenly find themselves back in the ski lodge, and it seems that they have lost the game. They discover that Allegra's game pod is also diseased. Pikul is confused by the disease's crossover from the game into reality. However, Allegra immediately notices Pikul rubbing his back and realizes that Vinokur gave Pikul an infected bioport in order to destroy her game. She inserts a disinfecting device into Pikul's bioport. Unexpectedly, Carlaw reappears as a Realist resistance fighter, and escorts Allegra and Pikul outside to witness the death of eXistenZ. Before Carlaw can kill Allegra, he is shot in the back by Vinokur, who is a double agent for Cortical Systematics. He informs Allegra that he copied her game data while he was fixing her pod. In revenge, she kills Vinokur. Pikul then reveals that he himself was sent to kill her; he is a Realist. However, she informs him that she knew of his true intentions ever since he pointed the gun at her in the Chinese restaurant, then kills him by detonating the disinfecting device in his bioport by remote control.
In yet another twist, the two then appear on a stage, together with the main players from the game. It turns out that the story itself is in fact a virtual reality game called "tranCendenZ" played by the cast, mirroring the first scene. This is enforced by more naturalistic acting coupled with significantly less cliche dialog, and cutaways from Allegra and Pikul. Another difference occurs when it is revealed that players are using electronic devices rather than game pods. The real game designer, Nourish, feels uneasy because the game started with the assassination of a game designer and had an overall anti-game theme that he suspects originated from the thoughts of one of the testers. Pikul and Allegra approach him (with Pikul's pet dog close by) and ask him if he should pay for his "crimes" of deforming reality. As Merle (Sarah Polley
), Nourish's assistant, calls for security, Pikul and Allegra grab pistols hidden under the dog's false mane and shoot Nourish and Merle to death. As in the restaurant scene, the other players appear more frozen than shocked. As Pikul and Allegra leave, they aim their guns at the person who played the Chinese waiter, who first pleads for his life, then asks if they are still in the game. The last shot is of Pikul and Allegra standing in surprised silence, apparently unsure of the answer.
.
Berlin Film Festival
Amsterdam
Fantastic Film Festival
2000:
Chlotrudis Awards
Genie Award
s
Golden Reel Awards
Saturn Award
s
wrote the tie-in novel to accompany the movie eXistenZ, the theme of which has much in common with some of Priest's own novels. He uses the pseudonyms John Luther Novak and Colin Wedgelock, usually for his movie novelizations.
In 1999, a graphic novel
credited to David Cronenberg and Sean Scoffield was published.
Body horror
Body horror, biological horror, organic horror or venereal horror is horror fiction in which the horror is principally derived from the graphic destruction or degeneration of the body. Such works may deal with disease, decay, parasitism, mutilation, or mutation...
/science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
film by Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
director David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
and Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
.
As in Videodrome
Videodrome
Videodrome is a 1983 Canadian science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg, starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and singer Deborah Harry. Set in Toronto during the early 1980s, it follows the CEO of a small cable station who stumbles upon a broadcast signal featuring...
, Cronenberg gives his psychological
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
statement about how humans react and interact with the technologies that surround them. In this case, the world of video games.
András Hámori and Róbert Lantos, the two producers of the film (who are both of Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
origin) said in an interview that they intentionally hid a pun in the title: "isten" is the word for "god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
" in Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
.
Plot
In the near-future, organic virtual realityVirtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
game consoles known as "game pods" have replaced electronic ones. The pods are attached to "bio-ports", outlets inserted at players' spines, through umbilical cord
Umbilical cord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta...
s. Two game companies, Antenna Research and Cortical Systematics, compete against each other. In addition, a group of "realists" fights both companies to prevent the "deforming" of reality.
Antenna Research's Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
), the greatest game designer in the world, is testing her latest virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
game, eXistenZ, with a focus group at a seminar. She is shot in the shoulder by an assassin named Noel Dichter (Kris Lemche
Kris Lemche
-Early life:Lemche was born in Brampton, Ontario to a schoolteacher mother and a father who was the proprietor of a heating business. Lemche attended the Mayfield School of Arts...
) with an organic pistol (the weapon on the poster), which is undetectable by security. As Dichter is gunned down by the security team, security guard (and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
trainee) Ted Pikul (Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
), rushes to Geller and escorts her outside.
Allegra discovers that her pod, which contains the only copy of the eXistenZ game, may have been damaged due to an "UmbyCord" being ripped out as the game was being downloaded. To test it, she must plug into the game in tandem with another player that she can trust, and talks a reluctant Pikul into installing a bio-port in his own body so he can play the game with her. They head to a gas station run by a black marketeer named Gas (Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
) to get it installed. Pikul at first objects due to a phobia about "surgical penetration," but eventually gives in. Gas deliberately installs a faulty bio-port and the game pod is damaged. Gas (with a shotgun in hand) reveals that he is going to kill Allegra for the bounty on her head, but Pikul shoots him with the rivet gun used to install the port.
The pair make their way to a former ski lodge used by Allegra's mentor, Kiri Vinokur (Ian Holm
Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
). He and his assistant repair the damaged pod and give Pikul a new bio-port. Inside the game, Pikul realizes that it is hard to tell whether his or Allegra's actions are their own intentions or the game's. When they meet D'Arcy Nader (Robert A. Silverman
Robert A. Silverman
Robert A. Silverman was born on February 24, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Robert is one of several actors often cast by writer/director David Cronenberg. Silverman is sometimes credited as Bob Silverman or Robert Silverman. He has appeared in 5 films directed by David Cronenberg...
), a video game shop owner, Pikul speaks rudely to him, but then expresses surprise at his own rudeness. Allegra informs him that it was the doing of his game character.
Reality becomes more distorted when they use new micro pods given to them by Nader, and gain new identities as workers at a game pod factory. There, they meet Yevgeny Nourish (Don McKellar
Don McKellar
-Personal life:McKellar was born in Toronto, Ontario to a lawyer father and teacher mother. He attended Glenview Senior Public School, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute and later studied English at the University of Toronto's Victoria College...
), who claims to be their contact in the Realist underworld. Nourish recommends that Pikul order the special for lunch at a Chinese restaurant near the factory. Once in the restaurant, Pikul "pauses" the game in order to get back to the real world, but finds out that he is unable to distinguish reality from illusion. Back in the restaurant, Pikul develops an urge to eat the unappetizing special, which turns out to be an assortment of cooked mutant animals. Pikul constructs a familiar object from the inedible parts—the pistol used to shoot Allegra. He points it at her as a joke, but then Nourish identifies their waiter (Oscar Hsu) as an enemy and gets Pikul to shoot him instead. In keeping with the game reality, the other patrons of the restaurant appear more frozen than shocked, and return to their meals when Pikul tells them it was a simple misunderstanding about the bill. When the pair return to the game store, Hugo Carlaw (Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
) informs them that Nourish is actually a double agent for Cortical Systematics, and the waiter whom Pikul shot was the actual contact. The next day at the factory, the two plan to sabotage all the game pods in the factory by plugging into a diseased pod. When Allegra becomes infected, Pikul frees her by cutting the umbycord. Allegra almost bleeds to death until Nourish shows up again with a flame thrower, directing it at the diseased pod. The pod bursts, releasing deadly spores. Before leaving, Allegra stabs Nourish in the back with a knife.
Allegra and Pikul suddenly find themselves back in the ski lodge, and it seems that they have lost the game. They discover that Allegra's game pod is also diseased. Pikul is confused by the disease's crossover from the game into reality. However, Allegra immediately notices Pikul rubbing his back and realizes that Vinokur gave Pikul an infected bioport in order to destroy her game. She inserts a disinfecting device into Pikul's bioport. Unexpectedly, Carlaw reappears as a Realist resistance fighter, and escorts Allegra and Pikul outside to witness the death of eXistenZ. Before Carlaw can kill Allegra, he is shot in the back by Vinokur, who is a double agent for Cortical Systematics. He informs Allegra that he copied her game data while he was fixing her pod. In revenge, she kills Vinokur. Pikul then reveals that he himself was sent to kill her; he is a Realist. However, she informs him that she knew of his true intentions ever since he pointed the gun at her in the Chinese restaurant, then kills him by detonating the disinfecting device in his bioport by remote control.
In yet another twist, the two then appear on a stage, together with the main players from the game. It turns out that the story itself is in fact a virtual reality game called "tranCendenZ" played by the cast, mirroring the first scene. This is enforced by more naturalistic acting coupled with significantly less cliche dialog, and cutaways from Allegra and Pikul. Another difference occurs when it is revealed that players are using electronic devices rather than game pods. The real game designer, Nourish, feels uneasy because the game started with the assassination of a game designer and had an overall anti-game theme that he suspects originated from the thoughts of one of the testers. Pikul and Allegra approach him (with Pikul's pet dog close by) and ask him if he should pay for his "crimes" of deforming reality. As Merle (Sarah Polley
Sarah Polley
Sarah Polley is a Canadian actress, singer, film director, and screenwriter. Polley first attained notice in her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series, Road to Avonlea...
), Nourish's assistant, calls for security, Pikul and Allegra grab pistols hidden under the dog's false mane and shoot Nourish and Merle to death. As in the restaurant scene, the other players appear more frozen than shocked. As Pikul and Allegra leave, they aim their guns at the person who played the Chinese waiter, who first pleads for his life, then asks if they are still in the game. The last shot is of Pikul and Allegra standing in surprised silence, apparently unsure of the answer.
Cast
- Jennifer Jason LeighJennifer Jason LeighJennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
as Allegra Geller - Jude LawJude LawDavid Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
as Ted Pikul - Ian HolmIan HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
as Kiri Vinokur - Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
as Gas - Don McKellarDon McKellar-Personal life:McKellar was born in Toronto, Ontario to a lawyer father and teacher mother. He attended Glenview Senior Public School, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute and later studied English at the University of Toronto's Victoria College...
as Yevgeny Nourish - Callum Keith RennieCallum Keith RennieCallum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
as Hugo Carlaw - Christopher EcclestonChristopher EcclestonChristopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
as the Seminar Leader - Sarah PolleySarah PolleySarah Polley is a Canadian actress, singer, film director, and screenwriter. Polley first attained notice in her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series, Road to Avonlea...
as Merle - Robert A. SilvermanRobert A. SilvermanRobert A. Silverman was born on February 24, 1943 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Robert is one of several actors often cast by writer/director David Cronenberg. Silverman is sometimes credited as Bob Silverman or Robert Silverman. He has appeared in 5 films directed by David Cronenberg...
as D'Arcy Nader - Oscar Hsu as Chinese Waiter
- Kris LemcheKris Lemche-Early life:Lemche was born in Brampton, Ontario to a schoolteacher mother and a father who was the proprietor of a heating business. Lemche attended the Mayfield School of Arts...
as Noel Dichter - Vik SahayVik SahayVikram "Vik" Sahay is a Canadian actor best known for playing Lester Patel, a member of the Nerd Herd in the NBC television series Chuck on which he became a series regular from the second season, and Rama in the Roxy Hunter Saga.-Life and career:...
as Male Assistant
Reception
The film received generally positive reviews, with a 71% approval rating at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Awards
1999:Berlin Film Festival
- Won, Silver Bear: David CronenbergDavid CronenbergDavid Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
- Nominated, Golden Bear: David Cronenberg
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
Fantastic Film Festival
- won, Silver Scream: David CronenbergDavid CronenbergDavid Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
2000:
Chlotrudis Awards
- Nominated, Best Screenplay: David CronenbergDavid CronenbergDavid Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
s
- Won, Best Achievement in Editing: Ronald SandersRonald Sanders-Career:Ron won Genie Awards for his work on Eastern Promises , eXistenZ , Crash , and Dead Ringers . He has collaborated extensively with director David Cronenberg; since 1979, he has edited most of the Cronenberg's films....
- Nominated, Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design: Carol SpierCarol SpierCarol Spier is an award-winning production designer and art director. Much of her work has been on David Cronenberg films.- Recognition :* 1980 Genie Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design - The Brood - Nominated...
, Elinor Rose Galbraith - Nominated, Best Motion Picture: David CronenbergDavid CronenbergDavid Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
, Robert LantosRobert Lantos-Life and career:Lantos was born in Budapest, the son of Agnes and László Lantos, a mechanic and truck company owner. Lantos spent much of his childhood in Montevideo, Uruguay, where his family had fled after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956...
, Andras Hamori
Golden Reel Awards
- Nominated, Best Sound Editing in a Foreign Feature: David Evans, Wayne GriffinWayne GriffinWayne Robert Griffin is the second person in Australia to be implanted with the SynCardia Total artificial heart.The artificial heart surgery was performed on 20 August 2010, by Dr. Phillip Spratt, the head of the Heart and Lung Transplant Unit of St Vincent's Hospital.He was assisted by Dr. Paul...
, Mark Gingras, John LaingJohn LaingJohn Laing plc is a British developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through Public-Private Partnership and Private Finance Initiative arrangements...
, Tom Bjelic, Paul Shikata
Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
s
- Nominated, Best Science Fiction Film
Novelizations
Christopher PriestChristopher Priest (English novelist)
Christopher Priest is an English novelist and science fiction writer. His works include Fugue for a Darkening Island, Inverted World, The Affirmation, The Glamour, The Prestige and The Separation.Priest has been strongly influenced by the science fiction of H. G...
wrote the tie-in novel to accompany the movie eXistenZ, the theme of which has much in common with some of Priest's own novels. He uses the pseudonyms John Luther Novak and Colin Wedgelock, usually for his movie novelizations.
In 1999, a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
credited to David Cronenberg and Sean Scoffield was published.
External links
- eXistenZ at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...