David Cronenberg Essay, Research Paper
David Cronenberg
The director I chose to do my Analysis/Research paper on is was David Cronenberg. After screening The Dead Zone, Cronenberg?s work impressed me. Prior to this class I had never heard his name, even though I had seen previous works such as The Fly. Since I had already viewed this movie I resorted to alternate movies he had directed. I was able to locate The Brood and Videodrome. The main reason I chose Cronenberg for my director had to do with his style. His movies are not the typical horror flick one has come used to today. When I was younger these movies were low budget and have a character such Jason from Friday the 13th running around with an ax and a hockey mask. Today the industry has progressed to Ben Wilson from I Know What You did Last Summer running around with a sharp hook for a hand. Somewhere between these two genres Mr. Cronenberg?s work fits in. He is not obsessed with the body count as many other horror directors are and is also able to develop a plot rather rare in this type of a film.
The three films I chose were able to walk a fine line between horror and science fiction, Videodrome in particular. While The Dead Zone was more of an action film with The Brood being the most true horror movie. I can tell that none of these films were high budget, they could even be considered a little cheesy leading to a cult status. Cronenberg definitely likes the use of blood, particularly when a person is shot by a gun, quite a lot of splattering. In The Dead Zone when Frank kills himself and the sheriff shoots his mother the use of blood is quite elaborate. Frank is covered in blood when he is discovered and the mother seems to almost explode when shot. In the Videodrome everyone Max shoots has the same exploding effect. And in The Brood when Doctor Raglan shoot the little freaky kids there is the same use of blood as in Videodrome. But when the freaks or creatures bludgeon Juliann and Barton to death blood is once again splattered for effect.
Also there are other similarities, all three of the films were made to appear in the cold (probably to do with the fact that they were all shot in Canada) and utilized darker colors. The Brood and The Dead Zone were both set in winter. I do not recall seeing one use of sunlight in any of the films. These tactics made it a good atmosphere for the type of film Cronenberg was making at the time. Also Cronenberg wrote and directed Videodrome and The Brood while adapting a Stephen King novel in The Danger Zone. Also Cronenberg utilized Howard Shore for the music in Videodrome and The Brood (and The Fly). All three movie were released within three years of each other furthering the chances of similarities. I believe two of actors used in these movies, James Woods and Christopher Walken, are both very underrated in their profession. Although This is probably one of their first lead roles. I viewed both of their performances as excellent, you really felt that you were in their shoes by the way the movie was written around them. Another actor I can think of who got their start in horror would be Kevin Bacon from the first Friday the 13th. However most of the actors from horror flicks never make it to the level of these three.
Surrealism was also used extensively in all three films, hallucinations or visions were quite common place. In Videodrome I was never quite sure if what was happening to Max (James Woods) was a hallucination or real. He was even able to foresee his own death. He saw it on the imaginary television and carried out the action. This is why I had to watch this movie twice just to understand. Johnny (Christopher Walken) also had his on type of visions. He had a psychic mind, he was able to see into the immediate future but also many years down the road. When Greg (Martin Sheen) was going to launch the nuclear weapons in the future Johnny could see this and tried to stop him. Unless one includes the effects of phsycoplasmics there were no such hallucinations by any of the actors in The Brood.
As stated before, The Dead Zone was the least horrific film. It had a little more action, in particular when Johnny and the Sheriff (Tom Skerrit) were tracking down a serial killer. It was more of a thriller than a true horror movie. It had an aura of drama with the love story between Johnny and Sara (Brooke Adams). Of all three movies I screened for this paper, none of the supporting actors really had strong performances besides Sara. She had a struggle between her former fiancee who she was obviously still in love with and the family she presently had. The way she acted just gave me a warm feeling that a mother would. She had a major impact on the way Johnny acted throughout the course of the film.
Also of the three The Dead Zone had the happiest ending, and it really wasn?t that much of a fairy tale ending. At least Johnny was able to save the world from World War III. Videodrome however, was very depressing Max killing himself because of the thoughts put in his head from the television. The Brood also was rather depressing, everybody died! The only survivors were Frank (Art Hindle) and Candice and the people that left the treatment center before hand. This movie was one that showed that a parent will do anything for their child, even going as far as to face death or kill someone else to save them.
The strongest point of The Dead Zone was Cronenberg?s use of the camera. During Johnny?s psychic visions, the camera would be on him and quickly switch to the scene of what he was envisioning. The Brood contains extensive use of facial shots, often zooming in on Frank or Candice. Also I liked the way the creatures were shot, at the beginning one was not able to see what they looked like, but later in the film they gave very detailed shots of them. In Videodrome it was tough to tell. I can not recall Cronenberg using any specific shots.
In all three films there is a power hungry individual that tries to rise. In The Dead Zone it is Greg Stillsan, a crooked politician tries to rise to a powerful political office through illegal means. In Videodrome it is definitely Barry Convex, who tries to take control of Channel 83 from Max to spread “The Videodrome” across the country. Max could also be viewed this way, he was trying to build a television station through socially deviant content. In The Brood, Dr. Raglan fits this description to a lesser extent. I am not sure what he is trying to gain by raising these creatures, and why did he choose Noah to be the mother for them, remains a mystery to me. I did not like the fact that this was not explained in the movie. I view that as a major detraction to an otherwise good movie. He may just be using his patients as some type of a medical scam.
Also, a common trait held by all three films would be the power or lack there of the human mind. In The Dead Zone Johnny exhibits amazing power by solving a murder, saving a boy from drowning and stopping Stillsan. In The Brood Dr. Raglan is able to influence people into thinking he is someone else, therefore exploiting the weaknesses that the mind has. In Videodrome, whoever invented it, was able to tempt people into watching it and have it influence them into acting like zombies almost. They almost became television characters in a horror movie. Ironic isn?t it?
Cronenberg without a doubt is able to put “signature” on his films. All had to with the power of the mind and the trouble it can cause if not used properly. This is an attractive alternative to the typical horror movie. It also keeps the viewers attention throughout the length of the film. These films differed slightly than something that would be made in America. I enjoyed all three of them. After watching these films I will likely look at the list we received in class and see what other works Cronenberg has. If they are up to the standards of these three they will be worth a trip to the video store.
The Brood was good but off the deep end with the with the little creatures. The violence was pretty good. It received three stars.
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Videodrome was too much of a sci-fi film for my personal tastes. But with a strong performance from James Woods it was enjoyable. It received four stars out of five.
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The Dead Zone was the best by far. I liked the fact that a love story was fit into the plot. The story between Johnny and Sara really made this movie. I considered this the best movie we screened all year. It received five stars.
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