Bored by dull soft porn imagery, Max is in need of new material for his TV-channel. He seems to hit the jackpot with a program called «Videodrome», where realistic footage of sex and violence provide the necessary kick. It is only when his girlfriend Nicki (music icon and Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry) decides to participate that he is pushed to his limits, while his obsession with «Videodrome» intensifies. More and more, Max finds himself lost in wild hallucinations with the occasional tape painfully jammed into his abdomen.
If David Cronenberg were to make this amusingly bizarre commentary about our overstimulated and jaded consumerist society today, Max would be only one of many constantly staring at their iPhone. Additionally, the seductive Nicki would be replaced by a far more pragmatic Siri giving instructions on how to lose touch with reality. While the work of the Canadian director provoked censorship and shaking heads back in 1983, today, this body horror reel seems more topical than ever: embedded in 80s aesthetics, men and technology merge into a new, monstrous creature that is less and less able to differentiate between content and reality.
Alicia Schümperli
