Shivers (1975, David Cronenberg)

For those of you (in the U.S.) interested in David Cronenberg's first film Shivers (aka They Came from Within), you may have noticed how hard it is to find. After some searching, I was finally able to see it. It's been out of print here for awhile but after seeing a good number of Cronenberg's little features and reading some good reviews, I had to find it. Actually I had two separate co-workers tell me that they saw it on a horror channel on cable and that it was my type of movie.

Shivers takes place in a modern high rise apartment complex, which is totally self sufficient. It has its own dentist, doctor's office, pharmacy, convenience store....and slug-like killer parasites. Created to be a substitute for a human organ, these parasites cause the host to become a sex crazed maniac, causing them to spread like wild fire. Soon the whole hotel is infested and it is up to the resident doctor (Paul Hampton) and his nurse (Lynn Lowry) to try to stop it.

This film was well worth the search. A little silly in parts, but overall an effectively slimey horror film. The special effects are amazing for the time (courtesy of Joe Blasco), including lots of "how the fuck did they do that" under the skin effects. The parasites themselves are also pretty nasty things and look great. The film moves along at a good pace and the acting is all pretty decent. Despite all of these great aspects of the film, the best part was definitely Barbara Steele's lesbian scene. Steele, the beauty from such classics as Black Sunday, 8 1/2 and Pit and the Pendulum, looks beautiful and has one of the most uncomfortable parasite scenes. Still makes me squirm...or should I say - SHIVER?

RATING: 4/5

The Dead Zone (1983, David Cronenberg)

Ok, what do you get when you cross the master of horror Stephen King, the master of slimey things David Cronenberg and the master of cool Christopher Walken? A pretty frickin' sweet movie, is what. Actually one of the best Stephen King adaptions, in my opinion.

The Dead Zone is the story of Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), who is in love with fellow schoolteacher Sarah (Brooke Adams). One night, Johnny gets into a car accident with an 18 wheeler and ends up in a coma. Five years later, Johnny finally wakes up to find that Sarah has moved on without him. Oh yeah, he also woke up with psychic powers (don't you hate it when that happens). When he touches someone's hand, he can see into their past and future. The word gets out about Johnny's gift and he does his best to stay out of the spotlight. He is then contacted by the local police to help catch a serial killer. After helping apprehend the murderer, Johnny has a chance meeting with politician Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen) and has a vision that could change the world if he doesn't react.

This is one of those films that I avoided for a long time in fear that it would be mediocre. I was very wrong. The great cast along with Stephen King's brilliant story makes this movie a classic. Not to be forgotten though is David Cronenberg's directing. This film is much different from his other classics Videodrome, Scanners and The Fly, but at the same time it ranks up there with them.

RATING: 5/5