Editor Reviews:

Description:
Exciting stars Jennifer Jason Leigh (DOLORES CLAIBORNE), Jude Law (GATTACA), and Willem Dafoe (SPEED 2, AFFLICTION) challenge the boundaries of reality in this futuristic, critically acclaimed adventure thriller! During the first closed-door demonstration of an amazing new virtual reality game called eXistenZ, the system's brilliant designer, Allegra Geller (Leigh), is violently attacked by a crazed assassin intent on killing her and destroying her creation! Forced to flee into hiding, Allegra enlists a young assistant (Law) to help her in testing the damaged system ... by convincing him to join her inside eXistenZ! The action then explodes as their world's real-life dangers begin to merge with the fantasy of the game! If you're ready to play, it's now your turn to plug into this powerfully entertaining hit!

Amazon.com:
Director David Cronenberg's eXistenZ is a stew of corporate espionage, virtual reality gaming, and thriller elements, marinated in Cronenberg's favorite Crock-Pot juices of technology, physiology, and sexual metaphor. Jennifer Jason Leigh is game designer Allegra Geller, responsible for the new state-of-the-art eXistenZ game system; along with PR newbie Ted Pikul (Jude Law), they take the beta version of the game for a test drive and are immersed in a dangerous alternate reality. The game isn't quite like PlayStation, though; it's a latexy pod made from the guts of mutant amphibians and plugs via an umbilical cord directly into the user's spinal column (through a BioPort). It powers up through the player's own nervous system and taps into the subconscious; with several players it networks their brains together. Geller and Pikul's adventures in the game reality uncover more espionage and an antigaming, proreality insurrection. The game world makes it increasingly difficult to discern between reality and the game, either through the game's perspective or the human's. More accessible than Crash, eXistenZ is a complicated sci-fi opus, often confusing, and with an ending that leaves itself wide open for a sequel. Fans of Cronenberg's work will recognize his recurring themes and will eat this up. Others will find its shallow characterizations and near-incomprehensible plot twists a little tedious. --Jerry Renshaw

Rating : - Existenz - Imaginative, Spooky, Thought Provoking
eXistenZ is a very interesting movie that follows the heroes as they try to succeed in the ultimate game of virtual reality. Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh must go through a series of challenges to unlock the game and it's secrets. The thing that is most allusive about winning the game, is that it's not clear what winning means. In fact, it's not even clear what is part of the game and what is not. As they learn more and more about the inside and outside of the game, they come closer to solving the mystery of Existenz.

This is not a new concept. The idea of a thriller wrapped around a virtual reality game has been done many times, starting with Videodrome and continuing through movies like Strange Days. But what really sets this movie apart is the interesting way it's done; the overtones of attraction, the sexual nature of the apparatus, the philosophical struggle between reality and fantasy. All of the concepts that make such an existential dilemma meaningful are here.

The ambient filming and dark mood lighting of the film lend to a kind of overall *horror mystery* sort of vibe. All along, we are trying to determine what is real and what is fantasy. Are we in the game or out of the game? The way the camera work is done is a big part of that.

Similarly, the cast is top notch. While one cannot always expect a good cast to yield good results, when it's combined with good writing the results are positive. And that is what we have here. Jude Law is consistent as ever, as is his co-star and the supporting cast. All the portrayals are under-stated. But the strong writing makes them impactful despite the methodical pace of much of the movie.

The special effects are also nicely done. All of the effects have a role in the story. The technology used in the game is given a weird appearance, as if it was a strange body part that was removed at birth. All the little details such as these really made it clear to me what the message behind the movie was. You will have to decide for yourself what your interpretation is.

Because of the philosophical nature of the story, the movie can be somewhat preachy. Not everybody is into that. The ending also left me feeling like they took the easy way out so to speak. Once again, you will have to make up your own mind. No spoilers here!

Conclusion

If you are attracted to weird, thought provoking, horror mysteries, this movie is basically in its own category. If you are looking for the simple scare and don't want a lot of preaching, this may move too slowly for you. As for me, this is one the movies I turn to often. As long as you are in for something far out, I highly recommend it.

Enjoy.