Videodrome (1983)

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Videodrome Movie Review

Videodrome is a 1983 science fiction horror film directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Woods. It is such a disappointing, disgusting film.

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“After all, there is nothing real outside our perception of reality, is there?“

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Videodrome is a perfect example of a film having a great concept, but eventually being undone by its problematic execution. And that is essentially what happened here. You have a plot that is not only relevant, but also extremely original, especially for the time. And you have the execution which is overly violent and gory and just too disappointing in terms of storytelling and overall impact.

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The characters are so forgettable with neither of them being either likable or memorable and none of them is particularly well developed. I know that horror movies do not have strong characters, but this was slight characterization even for the genre. As for the acting, it is solid, but nothing to write home about. But James Woods is quite solid in the main role.

Videodrome is such a repulsive movie. Yes, there weren’t that many gory moments to be had in its first half, but when they came, they disgusted me how horrible they were. Those scenes with stomach splitting are especially gruesome and unpleasant to watch and I just skipped them because I hate such scenes. I totally get that this is a horror flick, and a body horror one at that, but instead of having just a couple of those sequences, Cronenberg focused way too much on that gore instead of the plot and drama.

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Yes, I found David Cronenberg’s direction here to be very troublesome indeed. The pacing is fine as the movie is entertaining to watch and lasts for just the right amount of time, but it is never particularly likable because it is too violent and there isn’t any character to root for here. That was unfortunate. The premise itself is awesome admittedly and this is one of the most original films of the period. I also liked some of the imagery here and although those violent scenes were repulsive, they were still brought to life really well with some spectacular special effects, especially admirable for its time. Its first half is quite solid, but everything that came in the second half was either annoying or disappointing which is why this film had the potential to be great, but unfortunately that never came to fruition.

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