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Crimes of the Future Movie Review

Crimes of the Future is a 1970 science fiction film directed by David Cronenberg. It is a very cheap, mediocre movie.

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“Yet the Rouge, as my mentor and I were preternaturally close,

and I feel sure that he no longer exists…“

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The mad dermatologist Antoine Rouge disappears after a catastrophic disease is caused by cosmetic products. Tripod, the sometime director of the clinic, searches for his mentor desperately. This movie was the sophomore picture for Cronenberg and it absolutely shows. The film is so cheap that it hurt both my eyes and my ears.

Its biggest downfall lies in its structure, which consists of narration put over most of the film’s runtime while dialogue is non-existent. This was just a bad choice that did not work out at all nor was it artistic in any shape or form. The cinematography and the score are quite weak and the movie is very tedious, which was a huge issue given that its runtime is just a little over sixty minutes.

Crimes of the Future features a phenomenal premise and it’s the type of movie that would make you think it is amazing just by reading the plot synopsis, but it’s not. Unfortunately, Cronenberg did not know how to execute this fantastic premise better, resulting in a giant lost opportunity.

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The characters are totally forgettable and the actors are weak as they are clearly amateur actors. Some of the imagery is memorable, but that’s pretty much it. Most of the movie was a chore to sit through and the narration was largely uninspired. The 2022 film of the same name isn’t a remake, but it’s a spiritual successor that builds upon the themes of this 1970 original in a much better and more substantial way. Cronenberg clearly grew a lot as a filmmaker through all these decades.