Videodrome (1983) ****1/2

I've watched Videodrome (1983) many times in my life (it's one of my Top 100 Films, David Cronenberg is one of my Top 20 Directors, and this is my favorite film by him), even as recently as 3 years ago when Arrow Films put out their excellent limited edition Blu-ray of the film. But I've never quite noticed the political undertones to the extent that I did during this viewing (particularly allusions to The Manchurian Candidate (1962) (review)). Maybe it's the times, maybe it's because despite some dated (but awesome) makeup f/x from Rick Baker and an outlandish plot, Videodrome, at its core, seems scarily closer to reality than ever. Or maybe it's just because these things are cyclical—the zeitgeist changes, level-headed people stay level-headed and power-hungry people never stop being power-hungry.

You can find my David Cronenberg Feature Films Ranked list here.