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Wouldn't it be great, if you could really recreate, a world inside a simulation, to release imagination, everything feels like it should, you just need to have a plug, connected into your back socket, a human docking kind of pocket, then enact against your friends, a myriad of worlds to blend, conjure up crazy locations, solving puzzles and creations, couldn't tell which world you're on, reproduction or the one, perhaps you're visiting there now, but haven't worked out why or how.

An innovative and perpetually relevant story of how we'll all be hoodwinked in the end. Let's just hope we have the chance to pause or cancel while we still can.

From the brilliantly twisted mind of director David Cronenberg comes "eXistenZ." What is "eXistenZ," exactly? A new male enhancement product? No, rather, it's a reality enhancement product; a new type of video-game/virtual reality experience, to be even more specific. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the programmer of said video game, while Jude Law plays her hapless protector and our surrogate as the audience. The further down the rabbit-hole Law's character goes, so too do we, until we are left dizzy and without words to describe what we just saw.

Early in the film, our characters are on the run from somebody who wants to do away with this ground-breaking technology. They'll have to deal with a creepy Willem DeFoe character and deadly spores along the way, while still finding time to explore their new reality and test their limitations. Cronenberg's film pretty much hits the ground running and doesn't allow us the chance to catch our breath as it levels up. Because this is vintage Cronenberg, of course there is plenty of gooey grossness to go around, the least of which are the "portholes" that allow would-be gamers to plug in. Those crushing on the lovely Leigh may find themselves feeling somewhat conflicted about whether the "porthole" exploring is sensual or nausea inducing.

Plot-wise, the film draws comparisons to other late '90s tech- thrillers like "Dark City" and "The Matrix." Heck, even the DVD box- art states that "eXistenZ" "makes 'The Matrix' look like 'Child's Play.'" Well, I don't know about all that, seeing as how I personally don't ever recall seeing a killer doll dodging bullets in that movie, but no matter. What sets "eXistenZ" apart is that it is less focused on its dystopian future and more focused on our present quandary in balancing technological advances with good old down-to- earth human experience. Like the best Cronenberg films, "eXistenZ" has a lot to say about that subject, but doesn't bludgeon or bore his audience with it. Trade the giant placenta-like sacks of skin in this film for the latest iPhone, and it's safe to say that "eXistenZ" was ahead of its time, to say the least.

"We're both stumbling around together in this unformed world, whose rules and objectives are largely unknown, seemingly indecipherable or even possibly nonexistent, always on the verge of being killed by forces that we don't understand." So says Ted Pikul in the film. Which for some people sums up life and 'eXistenZ' probably is a film about existence. What is real and what is unreal and how you tell the difference. Or not. The last line of the film is superbly ambiguous.

The film seems like a shaggy dog story (indeed it has a real shaggy dog in it) but it takes you along on an interesting ride, full of provocative Cronenberg touches that will make you look at amphibians, game pods, fish, spines and bones in a new light. Some bits are quite icky. It takes place in a rural setting where the gas station is called 'GAS STATION' and a Chinese restaurant is called 'CHINESE RESTAURANT.'The film has an engrossing texture that is leagues away from your usual big budget science fiction movie.You can read many things into the film and it repays watching more than once.

The main actors are Jude Law who is OK and Jennifer Jason Leigh who is great. Some roles don't suit this very talented actor but when she has a good role like this she is unmatchable. Her unconventional beauty and fascinating voice suits the part of Allegra. (Looks great in a short black skirt too.) There are other familiar actors but they are not given much to do. It looks good, sounds good and a Howard Shore score complements the film very well. Cronenberg is possibly the Alfred Hitchcock of the sci-fi/horror genre. No matter what film he makes he is always worth watching.

I feel compelled to speak up for this film against the spoilt ravings of the it-said-it-was-like-the-Matrix-but-I-didn't-see-any-cool-computer-graphics-a nywhere crowd that have dominated these pages.

There seem to be two schools of thought on the use of special effects in movies. The prevalent theory - depressingly common among film goers and film-makers alike - seems to be that a good effect should stand out of a film and make the audience coo like a pigeon. If you subscribe to that theory, fine, watch the Matrix and be happy. If you think that a special effect is a means to an end, a way to portray a fictional vista as a believable realism, then watch eXistenZ and marvel at how a grotesque and visceral world can be made so engrossingly real and intriguing. This film has its fair share of effects, but they are so well grafted into the ethos the film evokes that you just won't notice them on first viewing. And in contrast with the current trend towards computer-generated effects, Cronenburg knows the value of his tactile world; the physical creativity involved in the gristle-gun building scene is a fantastic example.

Okay, so virtual reality has been used many times as a concept - and by films that actually came BEFORE the Matrix too - but the totality with which this film portrays its own organic brand of VR is truly engrossing. Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh are utterly watch-able and the chemistry between them is the perfect vehicle to lead an audience through the admittedly gruesome situations the film describes.

There is an element of old-fashioned escapist fantasy in this film that manages to be strangely endearing despite the gore and I suggest that this is where the film triumphs - a triumph that can be attributed to clever writing, intelligent acting and characterisation, a compelling story, charismatic leads, a vivid and disciplined imagination and the discerning use of effects and visual style.

If the Matrix is an `oooh, aaah' sort of film, then this is more an `oooh, eeugh' movie - but don't allow the glare of the Matrix to dull your senses to the darker appeal of eXistenZ.

"eXistenZ" is like a missing link. It was clearly overshadowed by other movies of a similar nature, but I believe "eXistenZ" is a quality addition to the sci-fi genre that focuses on alternate digital reality. Or we could say virtual reality. It follows right in the mold of movies like "Tron," "Videodrome," "Lawnmower Man," and "Virtuosity." And it was totally overshadowed in 1999 by the uber-popular "The Matrix."

"eXistenZ" is a crude virtual reality gaming movie. Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a world-renown game creator who has just designed a groundbreaking VR game. This VR game could be played like other VR games in this movie by the user plugging the "game pod" (which looks like an amorphous sack of skin covered flesh) into a "bio port" in the spine. Once in the game the users can barely distinguish between game and reality.

Allegra Geller had enemies who were from the Realists Underground. They were intent on killing her and destroying her creation so that reality as we know it wouldn't be compromised. If only the Realists Underground had been available when the Matrix was created.

Even though the execution of the movie wasn't the best, the concept was great. It really was a lower budget form of "The Matrix" or "Ready Player One." Like an episode of "The Twilight Zone," this movie got into that blurred line between reality and virtual reality and the possibility of not being able to distinguish one from the other. It was a mind melter of "Inception" proportions that should be given a gander.

Antenna Research is testing a new game system eXistenZ created by great game designer Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh). An assassin shoots her with an undetectable organic gun. She is injured and marketing trainee Ted Pikul (Jude Law) takes her away from the danger. Her pod contains the only copy of eXistenZ and she has to test it. Ted is forced to get a bio-port installed by underground installer Gas (Willem Dafoe). However he turns out to be out for the contract on her life. It's a long road where reality is questionable and the world is full of danger.

It's a lot of ooey gooey organic effects and perverse sexuality. I'm not sure if Cronenberg is actually making a point but it seems to be warning a merging and confusion between reality and game. It's a lot of weird stuff going on. It's not scary or even disgusting. It's just oddly fascinating.

David Cronenberg, much like colleague David Lynch, is an acquired taste. A director who plays with themes like reality, perversion, sex, insanity and death, is bound to get the most extreme reations from audiences. He proved this with films as The Fly, Naked Lunch, Crash and eXitenZ (capital X, capital Z) and more recently, Spider. It's best to see eXistenZ with a clear mind. Try not to read too much about the plot, or it'll be ruined for you. What I can tell you is that Cronenberg takes you on a trip down into the world of videogames that acts as a metaphor for any kind of escapist behaviour. Living out fantasies is something people always dream of, but how far can you go into it, before reality gets blurred and the fantasy takes over and turns into a nightmare? Those are the themes touched in eXistenZ, an exploration of identity, the human psyche, physical bodies being invaded by disease and most importantly, reality itself.

The story and directing are excellent. Cronenberg knows his trade very well and succesfully brings to life an artificial world, avoiding the usual pitfalls and clichés linked to stories such as this. The film shows some pretty disgusting stuff, but is unusually low-key in the gore department in comparison to Cronenbergs other work. The shock effects he plays on are never over the top and the plot progression is very intelligent and creative. It's not the most intellectual movie ever, but it will leave you thinking about it, wondering and pretty confused.

The acting gets two thumbs up as well. Both protagonists, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law, play their parts perfectly and cleverly portray their character's shifting moods and identities. The dialogue may seem a little stale and clinical at times, but that is part of the effect Cronenberg was going for, to create a disaffected and alien atmosphere that puts you quite at unease. Supporting actors as Ian Holm, Don McKellar and an especially creepy Willem Dafoe lift the movie even higher with their disturbingly familiar performances.

This movie takes some getting used to, but if you can appreciate the dark tone, blood-curdeling imagery and existentially warping story, you'll love it.

The plot and the general idea of the film is very good. The design of the biomechanical devices and their interaction with the characters is great.

Unfortunately the script is very slow and static. It lacks the explosiveness of video games plots. The performances were flat and unconvincing, so much so that they bore the movie. The female lead is often unnecessarily sexualized and not always very successfully.

It could have been a really good movie, but it falls far short of the sci-fi movie average of its time.

In a near future, the Antenna Research and the Cortical Systematics Corporations dispute the market of games. When the designer of the game eXistenZ Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) comes to a lecture to demonstrate and test her game, she is attacked by a fanatic terrorist. However,the marketing trainee of Antenna Research Ted Pikul (Jude Law) saves Allegra and flees with her in his car.

When Allegra awakes, she requests Ted to let her connect in his bio-port to check the damage in her pod with the original version of eXistenZ. Ted does not have bio-port since he is afraid of any possible infection, but Allegra convinces him to go to the gas station, where she asks the attendant Gas (Willen Dafoe) to make a hole in Ted's spine and install a bio-port. Soon she learns that Gas works for the enemy, but Ted and she play eXistenZ, in a bizarre virtual world. When the game merges in the real life, Ted and Allegra question whether they are still playing the game or whether the game has been transported to the real world.

"eXistenz" is another bizarre and original film by David Cronenberg, with a weird and gruesome concept of virtual reality. The twisted story has similarities with "Matrix", entwining virtual world with reality, but both were made in the same year (1999); therefore it seems that there is no plagiarization of the idea. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law show a great chemistry and the plot has many twists. Surprisingly, "eXistenz" has not been released in Brasil neither on DVD nor in blu-ray. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "eXistenz"

Note: On 28 March 2021, i watched this film again in a recently released Brazilian version.

Sometime in the future, game-pod goddess Jennifer Jason Leigh (as Allegra Geller) has created "eXistenZ" (spelled with a "…capitol X, capitol Z…"); it's a virtual reality game. During the public introduction of the "eXistenZ" game, some rival gamers seemingly attempt to assassinate Ms. Leigh. Good-looking, but game shy security guard Jude Law (as Ted Pikul) saves Leigh. While fleeing mysterious forces, Leigh teaches novice Law how to play games. Soon, they (and you) don't know reality from virtual reality.

Writer/director David Cronenberg successfully creates an intriguing and imaginative science fiction world; however, his obvious sexual allusions are a little too PG-13 for an R-rated need. Leigh and Law handle the increasingly duplicitous story expertly. Heavily accented Don Mackellar and grease monkey Willem Dafoe have two of the film's more showy supporting roles. Many of the smaller roles, like the one played by Robert A. Silverman, are noticeably fine-tuned. My "bio-port" would have been more satisfied with a stronger third act; but, Cronenberg is undeniably fun to play with.

****** eXistenZ (2/16/99) David Cronenberg ~ Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe

I can't believe that so many people not only liked this but loved it. OK the detail of plot is very original but so many other aspects disappoint.

Firstly, and most noticeably, the acting is absolutely horrendous, being grossly stilted and wooden. You could run a bus through some of the cues and I've seen far better on an amateur stage. Secondly, the screenplay is appalling - the dialogue just doesn't flow. Thirdly, the direction is woeful - the pace just never picks up and the whole thing just becomes one big frustrating, boring drag. Even though the effects are decent the acting, script and direction give it a real B movie feel.

I consider myself to be somewhat of a film lover - I like virtually all genres. However, and I may be in the minority on this, but I can safely say that this is the worst film I have seen in a long, long time.

A mixture of body horror and science fiction, David Cronenberg's eXistenZ will cure that itch for something weird, gruesome, and original. Set in the near future where biotechnological video game consoles are dominating the market, a game designer must go into her virtual reality software to escape from assassins and test the integrity of her software.

The execution is sublime, and eXistenZ wastes no time getting into its narrative momentum, taking the characters and the audience into a warped version of future technology. The game ports themselves are like slimy organs that are seemingly alive. There are no wires, but an umbilical cord that plugs into the user's spine. These visuals of bodily invasion are suitably uncomfortable as you get up close and personal with these biological penetrations, and Cronenberg knows how to instil unease in the viewer.

The concepts are outlandish but clever, and the story is mind-bending but engrossing. While there is almost a few too many twists in the final act, eXistenZ never stops challenging the viewer - or its characters - into questioning what is real and what isn't. David Cronenberg delivers another gory and disturbing entry to his filmography, with enough organic substance to stand out and be different with its gooey ideas.

After his almost disastrous "Crash", Cronenberg returns to more familiar terrain with "eXistenZ". After "Videodrome" and "Naked Lunch", this is now his third movie featuring different levels of reality which gradually mix with each other until at the end, you don't know any more what reality is. Nowadays, you cannot say any more that this is a novel concept and, in addition, "eXistenZ" is much tamer, much more mainstream, and much weaker than "Naked Lunch" and, especially, Cronenberg's masterpiece "Videodrome". There simply isn't anything new which Cronenberg has to add to the subject.

Moreover, the fact that the movie deals with computer gaming is misleading. First, the subject was probably chosen to attract a new audience (which isn't familiar with his previous movies). Second, Cronenberg's visions aren't very much based on what modern computer gaming really is, except, maybe, for adventure games. In Cronenberg's movie, the computer game allows you to enter another reality which, however, looks very much like the reality you know, except that there seem to be other rules. Modern computer gaming, in turn, has already created a new reality which differs in its very characteristics from the world we know. This world is aggressive, fast paced, and the player as individual is reduced to its capability of reacting as fast as possible (this aspect is indeed captured much more appropriately in the - much weaker movie - "The Matrix"). Thus, Cronenberg's movie is more a surrealist dream than a serious discussion of the dangers of computer gaming. Of course, this is prefectly legal. The game console is a means of changing into another reality, just like the drugs were in "Naked Lunch" and video tapes were in "Videodrome". At other times, the console appears more like a sexual fetish.

"eXistenZ" has some interesting and remarkable scenes such as the whole part in the "Trout Farm" and the Chinese restaurant, but there are also involuntarily ridicolous scenes such as the character being stuck in a game loop. Overall, the images which Cronenberg chooses do not have the strength and impact of his older movies: The central element, the organic console, just looks like what it is: a piece of rubber. It is directly hooked up to the spinal chord, an unpleasant idea, but how much more impressive was the scene when James Woods inserted the video tape into his own stomach in "Videodrome".

All in all, "eXistenZ" is another trip into the weird world of David Cronenberg but into the more civilized regions which doesn't give you many surprises.

Who should watch this film? Anyone who has ever taken acid, read Philip K. Dick, thought the premise of the Matrix was better then the special effects, has an interest in Philosophy, or likes having their sense of reality messed with. I laughed out loud at this film, just because it was so outrageous and so spot-on. This film is great. This film is cool. It is better than the Matrix, by a long shot (I didn't fall asleep in Existenz, for a kick off: action/special effects films bore me stupid, and despite a plausible philosophical gloss, that is exactly what the Matrix is). Existenz is gross, it is disturbing, and it is funny. David Cronenberg has done some shonky stuff (Rabid) and some works of genius too (Videodrome is another one worth checking out, as is Stephen King adaptation The Dead Zone). But this is one of my all-time favourites. I can't remember the ending- which is a good thing, cos it means I can watch it again. Or perhaps I never watched this film at all. Maybe it's an implanted memory. Or maybe it 'really' happened to me. I don't know. At any rate, it is now seamlessly stitched into my overall illusion of reality, and I'm glad.

David Cronenberg's `eXistenZ' is a well designed reflection of the philosophy of existentialism. It addresses the problems of a culture that is plugged into technology that it can no longer distinguish between fantasy and reality or between the organic and the mechanical. The movie shocks the audience with its replacement of mechanical technology with organic, metabolismic one. In this context the technology is able to be part of human body. After playing the virtual reality game of `eXistenZ', the real world feels like a game and as a result, human behavior change in order to apply violent game-urges even when the game is over. In eXistenZ, technology has evolved from machinery to biological organisms that plug directly into the human nervous system; an idea that reflects Marshall McLuhan's belief who is a well known media theorist, that computers are extensions of human consciousness. Like telephone is an extention of the ear, television is an extention of the eye, telegram is an extention of the central nervous system high-tech virtual reality is an extention of human consciousness. In eXistenZ, technology is biological and thus more human than it is in our world. But as technology becomes organic, humans become more mechanical and therefore less free, unable to resist their game-urges. eXistenZ is a virtual realty simulation of man's existence. Jean Baudrillard describes a mediated society in his book of Simulacra and Simulation, which all power to act has been transformed to appear. The world has passed into a pure simulation of itself. In eXistenZ it is obvious to see Baudrillard's mediated society with the themes of the invasion of the body, the loss of control and the transformation of the self into other.

While you are in the eXistenZ, consciousness slowly replaces with another identity, your role in the game, which is a reflection each individual's real life subconscious. While you gain the control of your hyperreal life step by step, the aura of your real life disappers. For Baudrillard, `.simulations or simulacra, have become hyperreal, more than real.' Our hyperreality, like Cronenberg's world of computer simulation, `.now feels, and, for all intents and purposes is, more real than what we call the real world.' (Baudrillard) The purpose of the game which can basically be called 'experience' is quite metaphorical. Because you can not even know what is experience unless you experience it. As existentialists say that, life without an exact explanation is absurd, the game of eXistenZ is absurd too. Cronenberg, ironically reflects the absurdity of our lives. For instance, in the game, the other roles just stand still unless you ask them a pre-programmed question. And when you put their aimless funny looking state of being into the representation of our lifes, the exposed absurdity really shocks.

The theme of the game is to understand what it is for? This hidden metaphorical question creates anguish over the people who play eXistenZ. They have no doubt about their existence, however they do not know the underlying reason of their existence. The essence.

Existentialists have held that human beings do not have a fixed nature, or essence, as other animals and plants do; each human being makes choices that create his or her own nature. In the formulation of the 20th-century French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, existence precedes essence. `Choice is therefore central to human existence, and it is inescapable; even the refusal to choose is a choice. Freedom of choice entails commitment and responsibility. Because individuals are free to choose their own path, existentialists have argued, they must accept the risk and responsibility of following their commitment wherever it leads.' Perhaps I should mention, `eXistenZ' deals with the concept of freedom of choice too. You achieve your final role in the game by taking right decisions. If you don't than the game becomes irrevelant and boring. So, you begin to interrogate the game, your existence rather than your essence. You suddenly become schzopfrenically alianated from the game and realize your position outside the game. Well as a last word, eXistenZ is a well designed reverse simulation of life thus existentialism.

I've watched this movie a few times over the years now and I still like it as much as when I first saw it in 1999. Some people I've watched it with were put off by its weirdness, taking the whole organic machinery a bit too literally ("that could never exist!"). But I think the strange aesthetics fit the overall context of the story. While it might not be David Cronenberg's best movie, it's very well directed and his style is also perfect to create the right atmosphere. All in all it may not be a crowd pleaser but the more hardcore sci-fi fans should find it interesting so that is the audience I would recommend it for.

Here do you get from a nice idea for a movie to a terrible film? Answer: Overcomplicate the whole thing.

'eXistenZ' has a good idea for one of those Russian doll movie concepts. A theme within a theme within a theme and the viewer doesn't know where he is. This is exciting and keeps you glued to the screen...unless the second theme is as disconnected from the main theme as it is silly, and this is our case here.

Several times I wanted to simply stop watching the movie, but I kept telling myself that somehow everything would end up clicking and I would really get into whatever plot the director wanted me to find out. Unfortunately, that not only never happened, but the movie sank into deeper confusion as it progressed to its final doom: The viewer semi-comatose state by pure boredom.

Disgusting scenes with animal entrails, a forced and useless sexual tension between the characters, unbelievable (as in "sorry I don't believe it") performances, and a predictable ending featuring childish shouts makes this movie's existence definitely questionable.

David Cronenberg's films are technically very well made and while his films are very disturbing a good deal of his films also have either a dark or subtle wit, poignant emotion or even both. He is for me one of the most interesting and unlike any other out there directors, despite being known for body horror and originating it his films are much more than that. All these are the reasons for my admiration and appreciation for him, even if he is not one of my favourites.

Cronenberg did do much better films than 'ExistenZ' though, my top five being 'The Fly', 'Dead Ringers', 'Eastern Promises', 'The Brood' and 'The Dead Zone' (also like very much 'Scanners' and 'A History of Violence'). It is though a better film than 'Stereo', 'Crimes of the Future', 'Cosmopolis' and 'Crash', and put it on the same level as 'A Dangerous Method'. It is not one of his most original premises though, it was done similarly in 'Videodrome' (another better film of his) and done more disturbingly and interestingly even though it had its faults too.

'ExistenZ' could have been better than it was. It could have done with a tighter pace and the script has too much talk and doesn't flow as much as it needed to, so attention did waver at times.

Jude Law came over as bland to me and out of his depth, not a complete blank but the role was in need of more charisma than what was provided. There are much worse performances in a Cronenberg film (Robert Pattinson, Paul Hampton, Stephen Lack, Keira Knightly) but also much better (Jeremy Irons, Jeff Goldblum, Viggo Mortensen, James Woods, Christopher Walken). Some of the second half was a bit muddled.

However, as always with Cronenberg, 'ExistenZ' is a very accomplished looking film. It boasts some of the most startling imagery of any Cronenberg film (in a way that is both disturbing and also oddly beautiful), Cronenberg again showing his visual mastery. Howard Shore's, a Cronenberg regular, score is deeply haunting while also with a degree of emotion, not just going for full on horror but also the emotional core.

There is enough of 'ExistenZ' that is truly unnerving and thought provoking, the eerie opening showing a lot of promise and making one want to carry on watching. The ending is intriguing and by the end of the film there are points that you do think twice about. Cronenberg's direction is at least not my definition of cold and other than Law the acting is fine, especially from understated Jennifer Jason Leigh and intimidating-ly off-the-wall Willem Dafoe.

On the whole, interesting but uneven. 6/10

Cronenberg's films work best when they root themselves firmly in our world, and then misbehave -- think of the garlanded and psychotic twins in _Dead Ringers_, Jeff Goldblum's geeky scientist in _The Fly_, or even the glacial professionals of _Crash_. _eXistenZ_ reminded me of _The Brood_, Cronenberg's early exercise in gore and would-be psychological terror. If you were scared rather than amused by Oliver Reed and those kids in red parkas, you may like eXistenZ -- but the rest of us will squirm in embarrassment at the setting (a world in which everyone plays computer games which plug directly into their spinal cord) and the self-importance of much of the dialogue. Where the movie should work as horror, it often comes off as farce; and where Cronenberg may be attempting social commentary, he slides into solipsism and pretension.

The film's design will persuade some Cronenberg fans of its merit. The game console designed by Jennifer Jason Leigh is an alarming mix of Playstation and kidney, complete with nipple start-button and throbbing (or should that be force-feedback?) game action. The sets are bizarre, especially the 'trout farm' (nope, they sure ain't trout) in which many of the movie's scenes are set. However, none of this weirdness can really compel in the face of some terrible casting (poor Jude Law is really out of his depth; ditto Ian Holm, who's given the year's least plausible eastern European accent) and a wonky script.

The movie's biggest problem is that we're never drawn into this other world because it seems so heavy-handedly projected from the opening scenes. Leigh's new game gets its first public try-out in a church (materialism and false idols, geddit?), and that level of inventiveness pretty much characterises the movie from then onward. The tension of the later stages is dependent on our own uncertainty about whether what we're watching is real or part of the game Law and Leigh are playing -- but even this trick fails to grab.

The final scenes (assuming they're not re-arranged for the theatrical release) fall apart as Cronenberg tries to have it both ways, to suggest that nothing's really happened and that the world's coming to an end. In sum, it's just a muddle -- and a real shame, given that Cronenberg on top form is one of the most interesting directors working today. With eXistenZ, he's managed to persuade a studio to bankroll his efforts -- it's a real shame, then, that this effort to cultivate a bigger audience should showcase more of his weaknesses than his strengths as a moviemaker.