The movie would not succeed if not for the brilliant performance of James Woods.
Max Renn (James Woods) runs CIVIC TV, a small cable channel in Toronto that specializes in broadcasting salacious content. Namely, softcore porn and violence or combinations of the two. Renn is constantly on the hunt for something that pushes the envelope and will gain notoriety for the channel.
When satellite pirate Harlan (Peter Dvorsky) tells Renn about Videodrome, a program from Malaysia that features what looks like real torture, Renn is immediately intrigued at the possibilities of airing it. Wanting to buy the rights, he begins to search for the program’s source. What he stumbles upon is something more dangerous and subversive than anything he’s aired on CIVIC TV.
Released in 1983, Videodrome asked audiences to consider what would happen if video content could actually alter the viewer. Not just changing their perception of reality, but actually creating a physical mutation of the brain (and, possibly, the body.) The idea of someone satisfying society’s endless appetite for media with dangerous (and possibly deadly) content is a brilliant horror concept. And, one that’s even more relevant today than in 1983. Writer/director David Cronenberg challenges the audience to ask if whether we’d watch something like Videodrome or not. Now that the Internet brings the worst of humanity into our homes (and our smartphones) every day, we know the answer is unequivocally, “Yes.”
The movie would not succeed if not for the brilliant performance of James Woods. Max Renn transforms from an opportunistic sleazeball to a sympathetic character as his world literally mutates in front of him. When paired with Rick Baker’s excellent practical make-up effects, Woods pulls off the change convincingly. Deborah Harry, from the rock group Blondie, is effectively seductive as Nikki, who leads Renn down the rabbit hole of Videodrome.
The sexual nature of some of the imagery might turn off some viewers. I think that Cronenberg’s choice to do so is warranted because it accurately depicts the primal allure of something dangerous. How better to visualize repeatedly coming back to something that can hurt you?
Cronenberg’s vision of what happens as a result of the Videodrome broadcast is grotesque and disturbing. One could consider the film a warning about consuming too much negative media. Of course, it’s also possible to simply view it as brilliantly conceived and thought-provoking combination of science fiction and horror. That’s what I’d call it.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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