A History of Cronenberg

David Cronenberg's career spans four decades, 20-plus films (including 16 features), multiple viral strains, and a ton of enthusiastic Voice notices. Indeed, he may be the best-reviewed filmmaker in this paper's history. A sampling of raves:

Shivers a/k/a They Came From Within (1975, Image DVD): "A slap in the face of bourgie morality and a cautionary tale about the fragility of civilization." Amy Taubin

Scanners (1981, MGM DVD): "Images of intellectualized grisliness that paralyze your brain while they nauseate your guts. Cronenberg handily doubles your displeasure." Carrie Rickey

Videodrome (1983, Criterion DVD): "A Bosch-ian brew of lurid s&m, hallucinogenic TV transmissions, and biomorphism run amok."J. Hoberman

The Fly (1986, Fox DVD): "Not since Psycho has there been a movie so completely drenched with modernist malaise and yet also such a deeply felt work of art." Andrew Sarris

Dead Ringers (1988, Warner DVD): "Directing against splatterific expectations, Cronenberg serves this shocker with cool, Langian restraint." J. Hoberman

Crash (1997, New Line DVD): "Uncompromising in its melancholia, Crash establishes a profound sense of seeking comfort in the crevices of a lacerating, metallic world." J. Hoberman

eXistenZ (1999, Dimension DVD): "Almost buoyant in its creepiness and positively bejeweled in its disgust." J. Hoberman

Spider (2002, Columbia Tristar DVD): "More poetic than clinical in its approach to schizophrenia, suffused with existential dread, this evocation of psychological torment is both sensationally grim and exquisitely realized." J. Hoberman