The question which strikes you every time you watch a body horror movie is, What are the limitations of the moniker of body horror? Is it only restricted to simple gore and bloodshed as mutilations are inflicted on the body? At what point does body horror evolve from gore to something far more sensual and potent? The near future of David Cronenbergs Crimes Of The Future is a terrifying dystopia.
Mature-Content Warning
The world is affected by pollution and climate change with disastrous results, causing unforeseen changes to the human body. To counter that, significant biotechnological advances have been made, including the invention of machines that interface with the human body and control bodily functions. However, unlike most sci-fi dealing with post-humanism (for example, the Deus-Ex games), the visual aesthetic of said interfaces is less machine-like and more human-like. Even the pieces of machinery are covered with viscera and slime; the electronics used to conduct surgery are shaped more like bones than electronic appendages. But perhaps due to the cause of such environmental changes, the human body itself has evolved such that the threshold of pain and the presence of infectious diseases has decreased. Thus, in typical Cronenbergian fashion, the pain has replaced pleasure, and as a character calls it, Surgery is the new sex.
However, evolution has resulted in mutations as well. For an eight-year-old child named Brecken, that translates to an ability to eat plastic, which causes him to be murdered by his mother because of the exhibition of such inhuman characteristics. For Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), this has caused his body to develop new vestigial organs. While this causes Tenser excruciating pain and has rendered him dependent on machinery linked to his endocrine system to maintain optimum stability, Tenser uses this ability to elevate himself as a famous performance artist, with his assistant Caprice performing surgery on him in front of a live audience and extracting the new vestigial organ. In a world as potently unique as this one, the physical body is a form of identity. Marking and tattooing of organs is a deliberate method of ownership and also registration of different organs.
The world and environment in the movie are interesting, and Cronenberg ensures you remember them. That comprises letting the environment speak for it, but for the majority of its runtime, Crimes Of The Future (2022) is a victim of clunky exposition delivered through clumsily simplistic written dialogues which sound more forced than natural. The use of a minimum score in the movie adds to the very unsettling flair of the storytelling. That feeling of unsettlement is compounded by the eagerness of characters to undergo surgery, where Cronenberg satirizes the use of plastic surgery to increase the number of scars and mutilations and exhibits them as a badge of honor and performance art. To some extent, that is a political statement; the ownership of ones body just extends to the interior organs, if we take the concept of tattooing to its literal extreme.
The issue with Crimes Of The Future is its introduction of different curveballs, which take time to develop, but the resultant payoff feels surprisingly low. It is very much a result of the movie being dramatically inert. The emotional utterances and moments of tearful poignancy feel blatantly artificial or over the top compared to the cold, haunting, pause-filled conversations between the characters. The gore scenes are scored to classical music, and the editing and staging of these sequences of surgery and gore feel cool, almost mechanical in their approach, even though seeing images like a zipper connecting two halves of the stomach and Lea Seydouxs character Caprice opening said zipper and delivering oral should be a cause for grimace or puking. Instead, it brought about a minor sense of curiosity.
Because that is what Crimes Of The Future is. An exercise in the development of ideas about human evolution and the evolution of the environment, remotely different from most visually spectacled sci-fi. The different political factions of performance artists, the commercial sniveling bureaucracy of The National Organ Registry, and the mutated plastic-eating members of society are thickly veiled satires of the difference between art and commerce and how Tenser, through his performance art, is trying to straddle that line. Maybe, in the end, even he succumbs to the temptation of art. This exercise in ideas is suitably carried by Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydoux, who are acting at the perfect wavelength which Cronenberg desires. Kristen Stewart, however, plays the manic version of Princess Diana in Spencer, and it is extremely distracting, while Scott Speedman shows sparks of passion and insanity not unfamiliar with the world Cronenberg has crafted. It is a fascinating movie, which will satisfy the Cronenberg diehards. I only wish it had more visceral energy and the sticky bloody warmth you would expect from a film where surgery is the new form of pleasure.
See More: Crimes Of The Future Ending, Explained: What Happens At The Live Autopsy Performance? Is Saul Dead Or Alive?
See the original post here:
- "NBC Nightly News" [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2015]
- Writer Rhiannon [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2015]
- Katherine Hayles, How We Became Posthuman, prologue [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2015]
- Posthumanism, Transhumanism, Antihumanism, Metahumanism ... [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2015]
- Thoughts on Posthumanism | Larval Subjects . [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2015]
- Transhumanism | Posthumanism | Future For All [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2015]
- Posthuman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2015]
- Posthumanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2015]
- Posthumanism [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2015]
- Predictions: Who should, will win at 87th Academy Awards [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2015]
- Waking up and smelling the roasted coffee [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2015]
- US-Bangladeshi blogger Avijit Roy killed [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2015]
- Atheist blogger killed in Bangladesh [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2015]
- Leonard Nimoy Showed Us What It Truly Means To Be Human [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2015]
- U.S. blogger hacked to death [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2015]
- The Joy of the Gospel Fills the Heart and Life [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2015]
- WorldViews: Why an American blogger was hacked to death in Bangladesh [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2015]
- Opinion: Roy died for speaking his mind [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2015]
- Terrorists murder American blogger [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2015]
- 'Nobody came to save him,' witness says [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2015]
- American religion critic killed, wife wounded in Bangladesh [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2015]
- U.S. writer hacked to death in Bangladesh [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2015]
- 53 & Grateful [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2015]
- 'Apocalyptic ideology' to blame? [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2015] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2015]
- Killed blogger defied Bangladesh threats [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2015]
- Avijit Roy received death threats prior to visit [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2015]
- American writer hacked to death in Bangladesh [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2015]
- Time to face facts over extremism [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2015]
- feed - Video [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2015]
- As it happened: Chat with Kalpana Sharma, Subhalakshmi Nandi [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2015]
- In the Memory Ward [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2015]
- U.S. blogger critical of Muslim extremists fatally stabbed in Bangladesh [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2015]
- U.S. atheist blogger killed in stabbing attack in Bangladesh [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2015]
- Tabling of hudud bill threatening to tear PR apart [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2015]
- "The Winter Boy" by Sally Wiener Grotta Nominated for the Prestigious Locus Award [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2015]
- REVIEW: The scars of war - Magazine - DAWN.COM [Last Updated On: March 22nd, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 22nd, 2015]
- Indonesians treated to Sufi, Punjabi folk music [Last Updated On: March 25th, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 25th, 2015]
- Blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh - Newspaper - DAWN.COM [Last Updated On: March 31st, 2015] [Originally Added On: March 31st, 2015]
- Louise Palanker: Why Are Boys Ignorant About Feminism, the Need to Text, Sister Fights [Last Updated On: April 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: April 5th, 2015]
- Text of Narendra Modis address to UNESCO [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2015] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2015]
- PM@UNESCO: Our world is a better place because of UN [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2015] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2015]
- Walking for a cause [Last Updated On: April 11th, 2015] [Originally Added On: April 11th, 2015]
- Thomas Jeffersons torturous afterlife: How Ronald Reagan and the Tea Party try to steal his legacy [Last Updated On: April 13th, 2015] [Originally Added On: April 13th, 2015]
- Heidegger, Martin [Last Updated On: May 16th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 16th, 2015]
- Lhyperhumanisme contre le posthumanisme : article - Revue ... [Last Updated On: December 8th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 8th, 2016]
- Posthumanismus Wikipedia [Last Updated On: December 8th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 8th, 2016]
- Home : Rice University Department of English [Last Updated On: January 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 20th, 2017]
- Trump's Wall Will Fail in the Era of Post-Humanism - Inverse [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- The Fairly Traded Coffee Party - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- James Ibori inspired David Cameron's comment of Nigeria being 'fantastically corrupt' CACOL - Daily Post Nigeria [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Oscar-Nominated Shorts: Unsung but Worth Your Time - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Thinging the Real: On Bill Brown's Other Things - lareviewofbooks [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- The Sanders-Cruz Debate Humane Health Care Or Free Market Fundamentalism? - Huffington Post [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- The Tate dives into the art of David Hockney - The Economist (blog) [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Japanese manga artist Jiro passes away - The Kathmandu Post [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Announcing My New Book - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Calls for contributions to books and special issues of ... [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Open letter to Shehla Rashid, from former AMU Students Union leader - DailyO [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Interview with Scott Blair - Conatus News [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Freedom & Islam 'not compatible,' says far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders - RT [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Humans in Dark Times - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- American society headed toward a breaking point - Jerusalem Post Israel News [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Talk utilizes postmodern approaches to explore images of the medieval body - NIU Today [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Sophia Al Maria: EVERYTHING MUST GO at The Third Line - Arte Fuse [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- 'Moonlight,' 'La La Land' and What an Epic Oscars Fail Really Says - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Manifestly Haraway - Brooklyn Rail [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Can Universities Save the Enlightenment from Populism? - Huffington Post [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Lecturer for Cindy Wool seminar supports 'slow medicine' - Jewish Post [Last Updated On: March 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 3rd, 2017]
- Post-Truth Trump And Why Humanism Is The Answer To Anti-Facts - Huffington Post [Last Updated On: March 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 3rd, 2017]
- Acknowledgment is Not Enough: Coming to Terms With Lovecraft's Horrors - lareviewofbooks [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Making Humanism Happen in Nigeria: A labour of Love - Conatus News [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- The Newfound Lionization Of George W. Bush Shows How Far We've Fallen - Huffington Post [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Grapevine: Shimon Peres Day in the Big Apple - Jerusalem Post Israel News [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- The Victim Of Populism Is Democracy - Huffington Post [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- In a robot showdown, humanity may happily surrender - Washington Post [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- Noted secularist Zuckerman to speak here Monday - Ashland Daily Tidings [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- 'Can we all get along?' Apparently not - Miami Herald (blog) [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Book World: In a robot showdown, humanity may happily surrender - Prince George Citizen [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- What if the problem is simply liberals and conservatives just don't like each other? - Fort Worth Star Telegram [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Godless flocks grow, attract like-minded - NWAOnline [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]