eXistenZ (1999)
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A game designer becomes the target of assassins while testing a virtual reality game of her own creation.
The story
In the near future, virtual reality games are played on biotechnological "game pods" that attach to people's "bio-ports" surgically inserted into their spines. Two companies, Antenna Research and Cortical Systematics, compete in this market while a group of fanatics called Realists fight against the technology. World-renowned game designer Allegra Geller demonstrates her latest game, eXistenZ, to a focus group. The demonstration is violently disrupted by a Realist who shoots Geller. As she flees for safety with a publicist, she discovers her pod containing the only copy of the game may be damaged, leading them to seek a way to test its integrity.
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 97
- Production countries
- Canada; United Kingdom; France
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- David Cronenberg
- Writers
- David Cronenberg · writer; David Cronenberg · producer
- Cast and characters
- Jennifer Jason Leigh · Allegra Geller; Jude Law · Ted Pikul; Ian Holm · Kiri Vinokur; Don McKellar · Hugo Carlaw; Callum Keith Rennie · Gas; Sarah Polley · Merle; Robert A. Silverman · D'Arcy Nader; Christopher Eccleston · Yevgeny Nourish; Willem Dafoe · Noel Dichter
- Genres
- science fiction; horror
- Themes
- virtual reality; reality vs. simulation; biotechnology
- Tone and mood
- grotesque; slimy
- Setting
- The near future
- Premise and plot tags
- science fiction; horror; biopunk; metafictional
- Source material / true-story basis
- Interview with Salman Rushdie
- Reception
- The film received mostly positive reviews upon release, with a 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 68 out of 100 on Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 76% · review count: 76; Metacritic · score: 68 · scale: 100 · review count: 29
- Awards and nominations
- Silver Bear · Outstanding Artistic Contribution · 49th Berlin International Film Festival · Won; Silver Scream · David Cronenberg · Won
- Production trivia
- The film was originally pitched to MGM but was rejected due to its complex structure.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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