THE DANMAN CAN

"Cheeseburger." Horror, humor, drama, science fiction, and tragedy all blend together to near perfection in  David Cronenberg 's The Fly  (1986), celebrating its 40th anniversary in just a few weeks. With its disgusting, gooey, and amazing practical effects (courtesy of Oscar winner Chris Walas ), plenty of quotable dialogue, affecting performances by Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis , a moving score by  Howard Shore , and more,  The Fly  is an all-time genre classic. "Spicy eggplant, champagne." If you'd like to hear to  Uncle Spooky , Lil Spooky , and myself talk about Cronenberg, take a listen to  Episode Twelve of the Weirdo Wednesday Podcast . David Cronenberg Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors The Danman Top 100 Films (2024 Edition) Top 10 Horror Films

If you've ever watched a movie and thought, "I wish this had more flesh mutating," then  David Cronenberg  has you covered! Plug in as  Uncle Spooky , Demented Danman , and Lil Spooky  explore the wonderfully bizarre career of the king of body horror—where flesh, technology, and existential dread collide! Listen to Weirdo Wednesday Podcast : Episode Twelve  here .     Let us know what topics/films you'd like to hear us talk about! Follow us on your favorite streaming platform and on Instagram . We love feedback and positive reviews too. Don't forget that Weirdo Wednesday takes place every Wednesday evening at Cinema Salem in Salem, MA at 7:30 PM (tickets here ). Dates for summer 2026 Freakout Fridays at The Owl Theatre in Lowell, MA are listed below (tickets here ). Come get Weird with us in both Salem and Lowell! WW Podcast Themes by Demented Danman WW Logo by Iris Miller FF Owl Poster by Lil Spooky

Though  David Cronenberg 's  eXistenZ  (1999) feels like a lesser version of his earlier body horror masterpiece  Videodrome  (1983) [ review ]—utilizing a lot of the same elements but swapping television for video games—it's very rewatchable and offers plenty to enjoy. I also find that I appreciate it more with each viewing. The technology and the fashion is dated at times (as is the fortunately sparing use of CGI), but the ideas are prophetic (especially now that we are inundated with AI).  Jennifer Jason Leigh  and  Jude Law  do good work here,  Howard Shore 's score is excellent as always, there's a great sense of humor throughout, and the film does a commendable job of submerging the viewer in its "reality". If you'd like to hear to Uncle Spooky , Lil Spooky , and myself talk about Cronenberg, take a listen to Episode Twelve of the Weirdo Wednesday Podcast . David Cronenberg Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors

1.    One Battle After Another   ****1/2 [ review ] 2.    Marty Supreme  ****1/2 [ review ] 3.    Eddington   **** [ review )] 4.    Reflection In A Dead Diamond  **** [ review ] 5.    Bugonia   **** [ review ] 6.    Roofman  **** [ review ] 7.    Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl  (2024) **** [ review ] 8.    The Phoenician Scheme   ***1/2 [ review ] 9.    The Monkey   ***1/2 [ review ] 10.  The Shrouds  (2024)  ***1/2 [ review ] 11. Caught Stealing  ***1/2 [ review ] 12.  Black Bag   ***1/2 [ review ] 13.  Companion  ***1/2 [ review ] 14.  The Naked Gun   ***1/2 [ review ] 15.  Hard Truths  (2024) ***1/2 [ review ] 16.  Deathstalker   ***1/2 [ review ] 17.  The Running Man  ***1/2 [ review ] 18.  Honey Don’t!  *** [ review ] 19.  The Toxic Avenger ...

Clearly the work of a young director still finding their footing,  David Cronenberg 's Rabid (1977) nonetheless offers a good deal to appreciate. I do prefer  Shivers  (1975) [ review ] though, as far as his post-student films prior to  The Brood  (1979) [ review ] (where he really hit his stride) go.  Rabid 's score is moody, consisting of library songs (the same approach that  George A. Romero  took with  Dawn Of The Dead   (1978) [ review ]), some of which are great and some of which are a bit too on the nose. The effects are crude and lacking, and the performances can be a touch melodramatic at times, but there is a definite charm to the low budget genre nature of Rabid .  This was the first time I had watched the film since the COVID-19 pandemic and there were interesting parallels to observe. Speaking of Romero, I had never realized before how much Rabid has in common with  The Crazies   (1973) [ review ] (that film...

I remember thinking when I first saw A History Of Violence twenty years ago when it was released in theaters that this was a more straightforward David Cronenberg . That's intentional in the design. While it feels more like a studio film than any other Cronenberg film, it's definitely still a Cronenberg film—the bursts of violence, the beautiful Howard Shore score, the rich Peter Suschitzky  cinematography, that last scene (and last shot). It's just more subdued.  AHOV  is a very good film and it rewards rewatches. It's funnier than I remembered. Viggo Mortensen  is good,  Maria Bello is really good. I never realized before how much of  John Ford 's (and  Clint Eastwood 's  Unforgiven  (1992) [ review ]) influence hangs over this one as well—violent pasts, identity, the myth of the idyllic American dream. Still, something has always felt missing. Several of the situations feel a bit too contrived. The accents are a bit too forced. I like t...

Beautiful, funny, romantic, tragic, personal, morbid, surreal.  Sex and decay and technology and conspiracy.  Pure  Cronenberg . David Cronenberg Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors

All right, I'm gonna do this review the Scanner way; I'm gonna suck your brain dry. There is a definite charm, iconography, and staying power about  Scanners  (1981), despite some wooden, soap operatic acting from its lead  Stephen Lack  ("lacking," for sure), weird pacing, and no real surprises. Additionally, gorehound that I may be, I actually find the phone booth scene the most thrilling, ingenious, and ahead of its time aspect of the whole film (though that isn't to say I don't love the infamous exploding head scene  and  the final battle). Because this is a  David Cronenberg  film, it is of course more than simply a sci-fi horror thriller—he uses imagery and themes that refer to political radicals, counterculture hippies, and the budding yuppie culture, as well as side effects and birth defects caused by prescription drugs. Scanners  has more than a few things in common with  Brian De Palma 's  The Fury   (1978), including...