I watched Videodrome and all I got was this terrible fucking headache.

[Bojangles]

Don't you hate it when you watch a movie, you're sort of excited about it, then you just feel like you've wasted your time? That's how I felt after watching Videodrome. Why is this movie rated so high? I thought it was garbage. After watching an hour and 10 minutes of it, I decided to begin fast-forwarding. Has anyone else seen this and if so, what did you think?

[Dr. Briggs]

Though I can agree with your first sentiment, I actually loved Videodrome. To me it's not only an emotionally engrossing film, but one that makes you think and keeps you guessing about the film's very nature throughout. To me it was a very frightening concept; was "videodrome" an actual conspiracy? Did Renn just go crazy and kill innocent men? Was it a real conspiracy and did he kill innocent men anyhow?

It seems to me that there's a whole lot to analyze about the film, not even including the subtext (Cronenberg doesn't believe in an afterlife, so what is the significance of becoming immortal through TV recordings?). I do guess you need some patience with the weirdness and an enthusiasm to deeply analyze to confusing parts to enjoy it.

[FreddysFingers]

Briggs is right. I found this to be a very visually stunning film but also the subtext of violence and it's link to sexual fixation. I found the commentary on violence rather refreshing since it's something that I agree with... that we sort of 'get off' to violence and we see it as a form of pleasure. (Probably why we love Saw so much) but I never really looked into the afterlife part of it. The film demands a re-watch but it's a great film nevertheless. I would guess it's rated so high because of the visuals and the sex.

[Bojangles]

I'll never watch it again. It's not worth analyzing, in my opinion.

[Dr. Briggs]

If you say so, but I'm hard-pressed to think of a deeper horror movie XP

[FreddysFingers]

That's what I love about Cronenberg movies... they aren't just about horror and blood but something else. Also, they all deal with body mutation.

[Bojangles]

The Fly was the shit. Videodrome was shit.

[Creamy Goodness]

Videodrome is a lot better the second time through. Early Cronenberg is actually some of my favorite horror ever. The Fly, as everyone has mentioned, is greatness. Naked Lunch is also really fantastic. I felt similarly about Videodrome when I first saw it though. I was really excited about it, then saw it and was kind of disappointed. It's worth revisiting though and is damn good.

[FreddysFingers]

I believe that Videodrome, at least personally, only gets better with age. Other Cronenberg movies are great from the get-go but Videodrome makes you think. The more you watch it, the more you analyze it and the more you think about it the better it gets. I recently watched eXistenZ and thought that was pretty good but not his best.