Zossimov has decided to join us in our ever curious battle to learn more about what goes on by the cool creators. It's been a while since Cronenberg last tackled cool Sci-fi-isms, but as we have long heard he decided to tackle EXISTENZ and since that means little to most of us, this is what it now means to you. Zossimov has decided to let us in on it, so here we go, there are some spoilers, but as with all Cronenberg, the coolness of his tales are in their execution not the plots.
"Recently I had the opportunity to read David Cronenberg's latest, EXISTENZ. It is about a game system (which you "jack into") that creates a completely immersive world based partly upon the personalities and thoughts of the players. The story begins in a converted, rural church where the company behind the game system Existenz is giving a demonstration to a group of lucky gameplayers. All hell breaks loose when members of a quasi-religious organization opposed to the game infiltrate the demonstration and attempt to assassinate the game's young designer. From then on it is a rollercoaster ride as we are thrust between different, multi-tiered realities, sometimes not sure of what is the game and what is real. Suffice it to say, the ending leaves us guessing which reality is "real".
The script has a lot of elements which are typical of Cronenberg: biomechanical game "pods", shifting realities, and well drawn portrayals of worlds which are just "off" enough to give you a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach. One thing that is different from his previous work is the tone of this script. It is more of an adventure than a drama or horror piece. Overall the story is a bit flat because it maintains the same intensity level for every scene and because it rehashes a lot of now standard science fiction ideas. Still, it is Cronenberg after all, and I am very curious to see what he does with it.
You can refer to me as Zossimov. Take it easy.
