James Woods, Deborah Harry and Les Carlson star in David Cronenberg's 1983 sci-fi/horror film. Woods (Vampires) plays Max Renn, a manager of an x-rated TV station. Soon, he stumbles onto a mysterious program, "Videodrome" which consists of real violence & torture. Max starts to feel strange after viewing it and his reality changes. Harry (Blondie) plays Nicki Brand, a radio shrink who Max gets involved with and the late, Carlson plays Barry Convex, the producer of Videodrome plus Carlson also worked with Cronenberg in "The Dead Zone" and "The Fly." This is a bizarre 80's flick, Woods is good in it and Rick Baker's make-up effects are terrific as usual. Give this one a try at least once.

Videodrome was made more than three decades ago and dispute the setting of cable TV being nowadays outdated ,the idea it isn't. Far from it, it actually quit prophetic about the evolution of mass entertainment.In the story we follow a sleazy TV programmer, who's programs are of questionable quality to be polite and he tries to find the next best thing in order to get more audience. And the he finds out Videodrome, a show like no other, with an extremely violent imagery. But during his watch he starts to have some disturbing visions and at times it is hard to understand if watch he saw was real or not. In general David Cronenberg is master on making something unsettling feel close to the watcher as if he is facing them and Videodrome is no exception.To the prophetic , the main theme of the movie is how over-exposure in violence can cause significant mental and psychical damage to the brain and body. Now the idea that watch violence in movies and television will make cruel yourself, it is wrong for nowadays we have dozens of violent TV shows and the global crime rate is lower than when Videodrome came out, but I won't disagree with that watching mindless slaughter in your free time it isn't the best way to have a good time. For instance in Game of Thrones a lot of horrible events take place, but the reason they are so painful is that we care about the characters in it, while in Passion of Christ we only see Jesus becoming out of the blue a bloody pulp ( I don't make any religious remark I judge the film as it is) so yes horrific but why?And that is I think what Cronenberg try to warn us. Also if you are bit conspiracy crazy with that film you will either have a blast or go nuts. If you want to watch it do it at your own digression, for it has also scenes for which Cronenberg is famous for.All in all it is a really interesting film and a must watch for anyone with strong opinion about the way violence is presented to the audience, I hypothesis you will find a lot of meat in that flick.

I like weird movies. I love it when a film maker decides to go outside of the box and use strange and surreal stories to present unusual concepts like TV ruling our world. Croneneberg-notorious for making strange films-directed this picture and his fingerprints are all over it. The questioning of reality, the dream like imagery and the hammy acting are all part of his charm. But frankly, it simply didn't work here. The story of the film is about the head of a TV station named Max Renn that broadcasts sleazy sex-ploitation movies. He comes across a new program called Videodrome that begins to affect the way his mind works. Eventually, reality begins to unfold around him as a war between fiction, reality, and rival companies comes to the surface. Now, the main problem with this film is that it leaves the audience with more questions than answers. Now allowing your audience to think for themselves is a good thing. But allowing too many questions to be wide open isn't. In Inception, letting the audience guess whether or not Leonardo Di Caprio's character was still in a dream or not was a great use of suspense. Videodrome slowly reveals the secrets of it's world but as it does so, it begins to make less and less sense.Did that actually happen or was just in his head? Was that person real or did Videodrome mess with your head? Why is an eyewear company getting involved with TV? It is like a piece of clothing that if you just pull out a little string than the whole thing unravels and turns into a mess. Now the visuals and the special effects are very well done, I will give the movie that. That doesn't make up for the fact though that it isn't really well constructed story wise. If you want to watch a really gross body horror film that questions what reality is, go check out eXistenZ-another Cronenberg film with similar themes to Videodrome but done way better.

David Cronenberg during the initial part of his career was primarily known for his body horror films. A consistent theme of his earlier films was the individual's loss of control over his/her body which involved bodies exploding, bodies decaying and other visually disgusting effects on a human body. Although 'Videodrome' does belong to Cronenberg's list of films dealing with body horror, but there is so much profundity that can be found in this film that I didn't find in his other early films. This film is a prime example to show how the genres of science fiction and horror can be beautifully and seamlessly linked/blended to make a resoundingly effective film.'Videodrome' was made in 1983. Back then, Television had just started to acquire a stronghold in the day to day lives of the urban masses. The story written by Cronenberg himself conveys a cautionary message about the undesired possible consequences of overexposure to television in the most bizarre and shocking way possible. Cronenberg is of the opinion that television like all other inventions made to improve quality of life, can be used by people for evil means by manipulating and influencing the viewers and shaping their opinions and ideals in the precise way that the T.V. stations and their producers want. Videodrome in the film is a show that is all about showing explicit violence and sexual abuse in the most disturbing and unsettling manner. Once a viewer starts watching this, he/she becomes addicted to it and starts having hallucinations. The whole concept of the real world and the world portrayed on television dissolving into one and the same as depicted in the film is a theme which has not lost any of its relevance even today. The popularity of the internet and reality television has for me made 'Videodrome' barring the exaggerations in the film, very prophetic. Human beings today have become genuinely addicted to cheap entertainment which sometimes can be revoltingly demeaning. This might sound a bit too preachy, but the fact is the general mass has become incapable of going deep into a subject matter and having intellectually stimulating conversations. Their sensibilities are molded by reality TV and the politically biased news channels whose producers heavily influence the views held by the public. There is also that fine line of dilemma in the minds of the viewers regarding whether everything that is happening on screen right till the end of the movie is really taking place,or are they the result of Max's(the main character) hallucinations. The film in a very Cronenberg-esque way has a lot of visual surrealism. Most of the themes and messages conveyed in the film is through at times bizarre and at times beautiful imagery instead of dialogues. Even in 2015, most of the practical effects in the film hold up and are still capable of shocking viewers. The only problem I have with the film is that I thought Max's hallucinations started a little too abruptly and Cronenberg could have taken a bit of time to build them up gradually. Having said that, it is a minor reservation.James Woods nails the character of Max Renn. Woods perfectly portrays the transition of the character of Max from being a confident, suave and insensitively business-minded T.V. executive to a helpless person who becomes addicted to Videodrome and whose life completely falls apart with the subsequent hallucinations. Debbie Harry does a good job of portraying the role of Nicki which is a very interesting and wild character. Leslie Carlson as Barry Convex also impressed me very much.In conclusion, 'Videodrome' is a film which is not for everyone. Some people might get annoyed by the explicit nature of the violence and body horror in the film, but if you have the stomach for those things, it can be a film that you can admire both for its horror elements as well as its sci-fi elements with themes which are profound and still relevant.