mong high-tech game designers, developer Allegra Geller (Leigh) is known as the "Game-Pod Goddess." Her latest endeavor, called eXistenZ, is so hotly anticipated that the few dozen devotees lucky enough to participate in the game's initial field test must first go through a security check before entering the room where the product will be unveiled. Unfortunately, even with this precaution, someone has smuggled in a gun and, just as Geller begins to demonstrate her masterpiece, an attempt is made to kill her.
Ted Pikul (Law), a marketing trainee with the firm that has developed the innovative game, hastily whisks Geller away. Yet while her wounds are relatively minor, her game-pod--the organic component that allows players to interact with one another via spinal "bioports"--is seriously injured. Keeping the unit alive is crucial, since it contains the only complete copy of eXistenZ. So Geller seeks out her old friend Kiri Vinokur (Holm), who is an expert at repairing the animal-like modules.
Apparently the only way to determine if the game is still viable is to play it, so she and Pikul enter the hyper-realistic realm of eXistenZ, where they quickly find themselves involved in a complex industrial espionage scenario. However, as the adventure unfolds, the pair discover that not only are they possibly being used as pawns within the game, but what they perceive as being genuine, both in their artificial environment and the real world, may be more--or perhaps less--tangible than they think.
Gripping and gruesome
Nowadays, a typical science fiction flick often features images of
interstellar spaceships, aggressive androids or out-of-control computers. eXistenZ avoids these cliches altogether by suggesting a more organic outlook. Rather than extrapolating a future dependent upon progress in electronic or mechanical technology, the film presents a more sinister perspective, where advances in bio-engineering and genetic manipulation have in part blurred the boundary between individuality and entertainment.
From the beginning, many viewers will probably be able to correctly guess the outcome of the story, but the detailed on-screen environment is so extraordinary that it's nearly impossible to avoid becoming caught up in the tale. With game-pods comprised of gooey organs harvested from giant frogs and deadly "gristle guns" assembled from animal parts, Cronenberg generates a visually gripping and occasionally gruesome work that is equal parts virtual and viscous reality.
eXistenZ also subtly examines some intriguing philosophical and existential questions, since the game--and consequently the action within the movie--is altered by the appearance and personality of each new player. Luckily, the key actors are reasonably believable. Leigh exudes a suitable ennui as the experienced pro, while Law, who as a neophyte must undergo a clandestine "bioport insertion" before he can even enter the game, acts appropriately bewildered. Although the film has a few flaws, including some slightly stilted dialog and a couple of overwrought scenes, it ultimately offers SF fans a fairly predictable but decidedly exciting adventure.
