Let's talk a bit about David Cronenberg; aside from directing films he's also done some work in a few TV series such as Friday the 13th the Series. Whenever he's not making films he's actually a bit of an actor from rather solid roles to cameo roles in films such as Nightbreed, Into The Night, and believe it or not Jason X. And yes he does have a cameo in this film as well...somewhere.
We start off with Max Renn (played by James Woods....oh piece a candy) president of Civic TV waking up from his couch nap and heads off to Civic TV station showing off some Japanese porn to his TV programing partners. OK if there's any TV station that shows porn I soooo want to work there. Later Max meets up with Harlan (played by Peter Dvorsky) at a clandestine office where he uses the Civic TV's satellite to intercept odd broadcasts from points of country's origin. Harlan intercepted a broadcast from Malaysia which is a display of a woman being tortured in a weird orange room. We cut to studio broadcast of a talk show where Max, Nicki Brand (played by Deborah Harry), and Professor Brian O'Blivion (played by Jack Creley) are being interviewed. And yes the professor's last name is O'Blivion as a TV pet name that is. Back at Harlan's office it's revealed to Max that the torture channel is not coming from Malaysia but from Pittsburgh. Later Max heads to a radio station where Nicki works at as some sort of radio psychiatrist. The two go off at Max's place for a dinner date and here we get to know a little bit more about Nicki. She asked if Max got away porn tapes for her to get in the mood....gees I wonder if she does that on every date just looking for some guy's porn to get the night going. She finds a tape labeled Videodrome NAME DROP; on the tape it's most of the pirated torture broadcast. This somehow turns her on and ask Max to get a knife and cut her at the shoulder but Max notice that there already a few cuts there. Oh man this is turning into Secretary. Anyway this breaks into a sex scene while the Videodrome tape is still playing and....EWWWWW JAMES WOODS NAKED! The next day Max meets up with Masha (played by Lynne Gorman) asking for her to track down Videodrome to have it as a new market for Civic TV. Back at Max's place Nicki tells him that she going away to Pittsburgh for two weeks for the chance to audition for Videodrome. Max gets heavily protective and warns her not to go to Pittsburgh and she may not be coming back if she goes to Videodrome. But this doesn't scare her at the slightest as she takes a lit cigarette and pokes herself in the chest. The next day at a restaurant Max meets up with Masha again and learns that Videodrome is not for the public and that they use real people real tortures not all staged. Put it simply Videodrome is snuff TV. She then gives him a name of who's behind Videodrome and its Professor Brian O'Blivion BUM BUM BAAAA. Max stop by at a Cathode Ray Mission to meet with O'Blivion but instead he meets with his daughter Bianca (played by Sonja Smits). He proceeds to ask her for a copy of Videodrome but Bianca seems to be unaware what he's talking about and Max leaves.
At his place Max receives a package from the office of O'Blivion; the package is a VHS tape and a very lively one too as we see it pulsating which freaks Max out. 0_0 Max plays the tape and it's here things take a turn for the REALLY weird. On the tape it's O'Blivion who takes something about "the battle for the mind of North America is fought in the video area Videodrome". He keeps talking about TV is reality and reality is less than TV; then O'Blivion starts talking to Max explaining how Max's now half of video hallucination. He further explains when had a brain tumor he began having visions; he believed that the visions caused the tumor. And upon removing the tumor it was called Videodrome and O'Blivion was its first victim. More REALLY weird stuff happens when Nicki appears on the TV as it starts to pulsate like its alive organic and Max starts making out to the TV. The next day Max returns to the mission tells Bianca about what he experienced upon watching the tape. And not only that Max was already been exposed to Videodrome via pirate satellite at Civic TV. Bianca reveals to Max that O'Blivion's been dead for 11 months not only that but he also help created the "Videodrome signal" as a way of the next phase in the evolution of man as a technological animal. Bianca gives Max a few tapes of O'Blivion explaining about Max's Videodrome problem, as he watches the tapes REALLY weird stuff occur once again as his stomach has a gaping vagina appears out of nowhere. Well that's what it looks like go see for it yourself. He then proceeds to put his own gun into the stomach vagina before it closes up....ugh....PHANTASMAGORIA A PUZZLE OF THE FLESH!!! Anyway he gets a phone call saying that a Barry Convex (played by Leslie Carlson) wants to talk to him about Videodrome. As he's taking a limo ride provided by Convex he watches a video introduction that Convex is the chief and special programs for a company called Spectacular Optical. Apparently they're the ones who created Videodrome alongside with O'Blivion. Upon arriving at Convex's place Max is giving a device that records his hallucinations and then analyzes them on why he's able to function so far while previous test subjects have not return to normality. Long story short Max goes through his hallucinations and somehow awakens at his apartment, back at Civic TV Max meets up with Harlan to see if he has been recording any Videodrome recently. But only to find out that Harlan has been working for Convex and not only that the signals he were intercepting weren't signals but pre-recorded tapes for Max to see. Say it with me now FOOL YOU! Convex takes a pulsing video tape and shoves it right into Max's stomach vagina, putting him under the influence to kill the station workers and give over Civic TV to Convex. Back at Civic TV Max enters a meeting room and shoots two of his co-workers dead before leaving the station. Still under the influence Max goes back to the mission to kill Bianca. He spots her and about to shoot her until Bianca shows him a video of Nicki being tortured and killed; this somehow snaps Max out of the Videodrome programing. Bianca then tells him that he's now a weapon against Videodrome and must destroy it. Outside of the Spectacular Optical store Max spots Harlan going into the store and follows on in. Harlan tries to program Max with another organic tape but Max resists and mutilated Harlan's arm with his stomach vagina and Harlan somehow explodes. Max heads to a trade show where Convex is displaying his new line of glasses; he spots Convex on a stage and proceeds shoot him dead with a now some type of organic gun and Convex dies VERY VERY VERY gruesomely. Max finds his way to an abandon harbor and sneaks into a ship. He then starts seeing Nicki in a TV helping him to "reach the next phase of the new flesh" by not being afraid for his body to die as he shoots himself in the head and the film ends.
My Final Verdict: This film is borderline gruesomely beautiful, the effects are amazing at the time, and the film just gets into your head with its plot-exposition. And may I dare say that James Woods is awesome...even in bed and naked EWWWW!!! Anyway this film is beautiful and it's worth watching.
OK we're at last leg of David Cronenberg Month one film left in this special and its gonna make your head explode...quite literally. Stay tuned next time as we look into Scanners.
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