Cert:

Cat.no: AA 019DVD

Running time: 93 minutes

Year: 1999

Pressing: 2002

Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)

Chapters: 22 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Languages: English

Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing

Widescreen: 1.85:1

16:9-enhanced: No

Macrovision: Yes

Disc Format: DVD 9

Price: £9.99

Extras: FX Documentary: "The Invisible Art of Carol Spier", Trailer, Exclusive Sega Dreamcast interactive menu, Three Audio Commentaries

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Director:

David Cronenberg (The Brood, Camera, Crash, Dead Ringers, The Dead Zone, eXistenZ, M. The Fly, Butterfly, Naked Lunch, Rabid, Scanners, Shivers, Spider, Videodrome)

Producers:

David Cronenberg, Andras Hamori and Robert Lantos

Screenplay:

David Cronenberg

Music:

Howard Shore

Cast:

Allegra Geller: Jennifer Jason Leigh
Ted Pikul: Jude Law
Kiri Vinokur: Ian Holm
Gas: Willem Dafoe
Yevgeny Nourish: Don McKellar
Hugo Carlaw: Callum Keith Rennie
Levi: Christopher Eccleston
Merle: Sarah Polley
D'Arcy Nader: Robert A. Silverman

eXistenz, is the title of a new genre of computer game, devised by Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Essentially, it places you in a virtual reality environment of your choosing ready to do battle with whatever comes your way. The difference with this kind of simulation is in the interface. The game - and hence the whole control interface - is connected to the player via a bioport that plugs directly into the base of your spine. This links directly into your nervous system for a gaming experience that really is new and improved.

For security guard Ted Pikul (Jude Law), the bioport has been implanted by a rogue official and starts to show signs of deceased. Then, as quick as you can say 'Dixons Mastercare', events take a nasty turn because this isn't an error that can easily be repaired and Ted and Allegra find themselves on the run, initially from armed fanatics who burst in at the game's launch and later on from enemies within the virtual world as they escape into eXistenZ and Pikul gets the urge to kill someone... but did he kill them within the game or within reality?

The film has an excellent premise, since films based on virtual reality can be very intriguing when the link between fantasy and reality starts to blur, but the film hits problems when it comes to the end, since it just seems to end where it wants to and things come back into reality too quickly to just get the film over with what appears to be a rather throwaway ending.

It certainly has a good cast, but is one you may prefer to rent first rather than buy just to check if you'll want to see it more than once. That said, when this DVD was originally released in 2000 it was a full-price title, but that has now been halved to a penny under a tenner so you won't be losing out on too much even if you do buy it.

Pikul shoots his load in the Chinaman's face.

The picture is of a rather glitch-free quality, but given that it's non-anamorphic that's rather a disappointment. Even BBC2 managed to broadcast an anamorphic transfer last year so why can't the DVD provide one? Not even the price-point can let that one off. The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio.

Howard Shore's score is fine but nothing too original. Despite the computer games scenario, it's not a special FX-fest, opting more for a dramatic offering. It's a pleasing Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack though.

The extras consist of a 2-minute Trailer in letterboxed 15:9 widescreen and a 53-minute featurette about production designer Carol Spier and how she's worked on many a Cronenberg film, so while the bulk of this centres on this DVD title, you still get 5-10 minutes on his other works.

Three audio commentaries are available - one each for Cronenberg, Director of Photography Peter Suschitzky and Visual and Special Effects Supervisor Jim Isaac. Also, as part of the extras is an Exclusive Sega Dreamcast Interactive Menu - something which may have been big news at the time of the DVD's original release, but now is sadly not worth much as it's just a 9½-minute trailer for the excellent console which was badly let down by piss-poor marketing.

The only subtitle on the disc is in English, there are 22 chapters to split the film up and the menus feature weird music from the film and even more bizarre menus.

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2002.