Max Renn owns a small cabel company called Civic TV that shows violent and sexual shows. Always being on the hunt for new sleazy shows for his network to broadcast, Max one day comes across a show called Videodrome. The show has no plot, you only get to see people being tortured and murdered and Max discover than the shows is broadcasted from Pittsburgh, USA. Later on, he finds out that Videodrome is actually a signal that creates a tumour in the brain that makes you hallucinate, and that the people behind Videodrome can control those who have been exposed to it. There are also those who fight against it, and Max finds himself caught in the middle of it all, used as a weapon.
From the awesome director David Cronenberg (The Fly) comes Videodrome, a bizarre and most original sci-fi horror movie that should not be missed. This is the type of movie that kinda requires to be seen more than one time, as it contains so many little things, and it might be hard to catch it all the first time watching it.
Anyway, it has this really interesting story about cabel company owner Max (James Woods) who through pirating discovers a snuff tv-show called Videodrome. Since he knows that only the most perverted and violent shows will get him more viewers, he of course is more than interested to find out what Videodrome is all about. He hooks up with this girl Nicki (Deborah Harry) that has a taste for the extreme and later disappers when going to an audition for Videodrome. But it's more than just a tv-show, as it uses transmissions to alter the viewer's perceptions. Max gets caught in the middle of it as the people behind Videodrome wants to use him for their benefit, and Max soon finds himself falling deeper and deeper into the world that is Videodrome.
I can't even begin to describe just how fantastic this movie is, all I can say is that it's a definite must-see. Videodrome has so many layers and the further it goes, the more confusing it gets. James Woods gives a brilliant performance playing the role of Max Renn and being as sleazy as one could be, but despite all his sleaziness, you still can't help but feeling a bit sorry for what he gets himself into. Videodrome delivers a message and thankfully is not just another brainless horror flick. It also has this typical 80's feeling which makes it better, and there are no movies like this these days and that's a shame.
It's never scary in the sense that it'll make you jump, and it's actually more of a sci-fi than a horror movie, although it has a fair share of horror elements baked into the whole thing. As we get to follow Max hallucinating, sometimes it's more than hard to tell what's real and what's not, but it doesn't matter, and it's not hard to follow either. Considering that Videodrome did not have a big budget, it comes out even more amazing. The special effects are brilliant, and the camerawork is excellent. Actually, everything about this movie is just truly excellent.
Be ready to see some freaky stuff like pulsating video cassettes, flesh guns, human VCR's and a whole lot of S&M among a heap of other things. Great acting, especially by James Woods, but also from Deborah Harry and the rest of the people involved in this flick. Videodrome is truly interesting, original, extremely fascinating and captivating. One of the best, and a movie that should not be left unseen.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Network of Blood
Zonekiller
MOVIE YEAR: 1983
DIRECTOR: David Cronenberg
WRITING CREDITS: David Cronenberg
GENRE: Horror, Fantasy, Thriller, Sci-Fi
CAST: James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 89 min
RATING: 10/10
Videodrome Website/IMDB Click here
Videodrome Trailer Click here
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