Crimes of the Future director David Cronenberg is expecting a major response to his graphic new body horror film.
During an interview with Deadline, the 79-year-old filmmaker said he’s expecting a lot of people to be ‘revulsed’ by the movie – and anticipates walkouts.
“There are some very strong scenes,” he explained. “I mean, I’m sure that we will have walkouts within the first five minutes of the movie. I’m sure of that. Some people who have seen the film have said that they think the last 20 minutes will be very hard on people, and that there’ll be a lot of walkouts. Some guy said that he almost had a panic attack.”
“I say, ‘Well, that would be OK’,” said Cronenberg about the potential reactions to Crimes of the Future. “But I’m not convinced that that will be a general reaction. I do expect walkouts in Cannes, and that’s a very special thing. [Laughs] People always walk out, and the seats notoriously clack as you get up, because the seats fold back and hit the back of the seat. So, you hear clack, clack, clack. Whether they’ll be outraged the way they were with Crash, I somehow don’t think so. They might be revulsed to the point that they want to leave, but that’s not the same as being outraged. However, I have no idea really what’s going to happen.”
Crimes of the Future is a twisted return to sci-fi horror for Cronenberg, who previously brought us the likes of Scanners and Videodrome.
Here’s the official synopsis: “As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. Accompanied by his partner, celebrity performance artist Saul Tenser showcases the metamorphosis of his organs. Meanwhile, a mysterious group tries to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.”
Saul Tenser is played by Viggo Mortensen alongside his partner, played by Léa Seydoux. Meanwhile, the mysterious group mentioned above is being tracked by Timlin (Kristen Stewart) – an investigator from the National Organ Registry. The group wishes to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution… whatever that means.
The film’s first trailer gives us a suitable-creepy glimpse at the film, and it looks as though we can expect plenty of Cronenberg’s signature body horror here. Even if the audience will be truly disturbed by what they see.
How far Saul will go in his pursuit of body modification remains to be seen… but it sounds as though Cronenberg fans are in for a real treat. The film will debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022 before its official release in June.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
