eXistenZ

1999

SF elements

Review

Allegra Geller [Jennifer Jason Leigh], world famous VR game designer, is the target of an assassin during her demo of her new game, eXistenZ. She goes on the run with Ted Pikul [Jude Law] and they both enter the game to check whether it was damaged in the attack. This leads to a series of bizarre, and, this being a David Cronenberg film, sometimes gross, but always imaginative, scenarios.

The film captures very well what I imagine being in a full immersion VR game would be like -- the glitches, the discontinuities, the confusing story lines, the occasional disorienting non-reality. The whole theme of distinguishing "real" reality from merely virtual reality, and how one ought to behave in each, is done well. Although the penultimate "twist" is obvious from the beginning, the ultimate twist did take me by surprise, and the last line is brilliant.

Rating: 3