Ordinarily movies that feature hallucinations that we're never quite sure are actually happening, or not, being being a main feature of a film is something I don't care for but in the case of this film I give it a pass. There are certainly enough ideas intertwined with the twisted realities that we are shown to keep me invested. This film sorta predicts the internet even if it got the exact medium wrong. Reality TV programming, virtual reality and obsessions with video games are also not too hard to see coming within the universe set forth here. What is basically an obtuse horror/sci-fi-art film that somehow received a major release seems very hard to comprehend being made today but maybe with stuff like that artsy MOTHER flick getting a shot it would be possible? Then again films these days seem to be play in theaters for about 2 weeks before they are gone so maybe it's not even that big of a deal anymore. Debbie Harry is really good here as the pain-loving gal pal of Max Renn(played equally brilliantly by the great James Woods who would go on to become a Republican which I guess is the worst sin in Hollywood since his career has yet to recover). This may be my favorite film by director David Cronenberg but it's really hard to pick since I love almost everything he has done pretty equally. Bizarre imagery including stomach vaginas, hands that turn into puss-oozing guns, veiny and throbbing television sets that suck you right into their warped reality and tumor-infested "bad guys"(are there really any good guys in this??) that melt like the wicked witch make for one of the all-time great mind-trips of cinema.
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