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Videodrome

Videodrome

1983
Sci-fi, Suspense/Thriller
1h 27m
A lowly cable TV operator begins to see his life and the future of media spin out of control in a very unusual fashion when he acquires a new kind of programming for his station. (imdb)
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Videodrome

1983
Sci-fi, Suspense/Thriller
1h 27m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 63.56% from 4660 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(4659)
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Rated 14 Jul 2007
77
76th
James Woods grows a vagina on his abdomen. A fine documentary.
Rated 01 Dec 2010
97
99th
Wonderful Cronenberg weirdness. Profound and astonishingly prophetic. Its juicy themes - recalling McLuhan, Baudrillard and Dick - are still very relevant and the exquisitely unified narrative is ultra-tight. Aligning Max and the audience is a brilliant way to draw us in, at the same time illustrating the subject of perceiving reality clearly in our digital age. "Death to Videodrome. Long live the new flesh!"
Rated 10 Sep 2008
98
98th
All of Cronenberg's fascinations/obsessions, predominately his anxiety about society's influence over the body, only become more significant and horrifying in hindsight. My favorite films (of which this is one of them) leave me feeling as if it is a complete entity; nothing should or could be added or excised to make a more compelling feature. You could write books over what happens in this 80-min film.
Rated 02 May 2007
85
83rd
It feels almost like a prophetic warning of the degredation of horror movies into "torture porn". Now, here we are, two decades later and low and behold it's sadly come true. This only makes Videodrome more powerful and relevant than it was at the time of it's release. Cronenberg was absolutely spot on with this one.
Rated 21 May 2007
92
94th
Prophetic envisioning of "torture porn" subgenre that currently pollutes our cinemas. Script, direction, and acting all top notch. Cronenberg's best and a modern classic. Superb.
Rated 21 Jul 2009
90
92nd
While not particularly shocking, this movie managed to impress me with its straight to the point, over the top weirdness. There was no attempt on the part of Cronenberg to overly explain what was happening. The movie was simply a 90-minute screwed up mental journey, and I loved it for that. I also loved the practical gore effects. CGI just doesn't have the great tangible realism of latex, prosthetics and slime.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
97th
Visually magnificent horror film that incorporates politics, surrealistic imagery, and an engaging and ambiguous story. This is probably the best example of Cronenberg's fascination with the merging of technology and the human body.
Rated 18 Mar 2012
7
68th
James Woods fists his own vagina.
Rated 31 Oct 2013
100
98th
Three words: VCR chest vagina. What starts out as a delightfully clunky satirical thriller gradually morphs into a groady, pulsating nightmare that left me oh, so happy. I realize this movie has flaws- All the best ones do. I honestly can't picture anything more boring than a movie that is literally perfect.
Rated 08 Dec 2020
75
58th
Cronenberg's Gun - if you leave a loaded weapon in someone's abdomen in act one it has to be fused by act three.
Rated 12 Jan 2009
91
93rd
Cronenberg is the master of taking the two things everyone loves watching -- sex and violence -- and combining them in such a way that is utterly repulsive. He plays them off each other in nearly all of his films, but this is like his Masters Thesis. The film is a mindfuck like none other, but its nonsense packs purpose and a scornful (but curious) message about the heart of television and media. Iconic imagery. That many of its cynical prophecies have come true only makes it more timeless.
Rated 13 Jan 2009
83
80th
Creepy, disturbing and enigmatic sci-fi mystery that follows a TV executive in a noir detective style plot. Unlike other early Cronenberg there is a genuine marriage between visuals and plot, specifically the effects service the story rather than the other way round. Cronenbergs best.
Rated 19 Apr 2010
92
98th
Televisions start orgasming, James Woods shows off his supple ass, people explode for no reason and the entire plot revolves around grainy snuff footage. Fun for the whole family.
Rated 27 Apr 2010
90
94th
Intense, engaging, and of course disgusting and repulsive as hell. Those 80s special effects are seriously great, and their visceral presence adds so much to the film. Great example of body horror meshed with social commentary.
Rated 31 May 2011
75
60th
Well, this was quite the experience of violence, sex and TV. It might require a second viewing and a plowing through of various academic 80s texts on horror and (if I really, really have to) some Baudrillard-mumbo-jumbo. But really, this is a +/-15.
Rated 19 Sep 2007
4
83rd
LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH. Strangely prophetic...
Rated 14 Feb 2008
80
61st
If you look past all the weirdness and mindfuckery it seems like Cronenberg is simply saying "TV is bad for you!" As far as I can tell that's basically how it is, and it's a bit of a letdown. Still, I quite like the film. I particularly liked how the guy put the gun in the videogina player, bringing together the phallic symbology, the technology as violence metaphor and the cyborgification theme, all at once. The mind boggles at the metaphorical potential.
Rated 08 Apr 2008
86
94th
Long live the new flesh.
Rated 22 Mar 2009
4
70th
You know how Patrick Bateman is always renting videotapes? I think Videodrome was his favorite show.
Rated 31 Jul 2009
85
83rd
A retro gem from the twisted mind of Cronenberg. Very creepy. The FX still look gross, even despite the passing years.
Rated 18 Nov 2010
10
97th
How cool is this movie? Very.
Rated 16 Jan 2011
4
51st
Blunt and corny and never powerful. I really wish it was as twisted on the inside as it is on the outside.
Rated 24 Mar 2011
80
88th
Its weird, its Cronenberg, its Videodrome. Dont quite know how, but somehow it works, so, see you in Pittsburg!
Rated 21 Feb 2015
8
78th
The world needs more directors like Cronenberg; Unabashed filmmakers that operate at the outer limits of creative filmmaking, unafraid to take their vision to great heights without succumbing to the trappings of its genre. Even its backlash remains a welcome source of hilarity, as it perfectly demonstrates how we easily lapse into denial when confronted with our own perverted sensibilities. And those special effects are a thing of beauty.
Rated 04 Mar 2007
80
84th
Very fine example of Cronenberg's body-horror.
Rated 21 Apr 2007
100
98th
Probably my favorite movie of all time. I don't remember if it was Ballard who said (considering Crash) that "I'm not sure if I like Cronenberg movies, but I need them". I feel the same.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
85
79th
DEATH TO VIDEODROME. LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
96
99th
Striking how much more there is to the behind the scenes plot than we're ever shown. Miss Oblivion obviously has an agenda and power all her own although is played off as an underdog. Also James Woods is an unreliable narrator, it's impossible to say what really is going on.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
99
98th
Still prescient, this techno-thriller makes stringent points about where we end and the consumption begins.
Rated 20 Dec 2007
88
90th
Original and brilliant sci-fi horror. Cronenberg takes the viewer on a memorable trip and was right in many of his predictions about future.
Rated 12 Sep 2008
84
80th
This movie is a strange ride that leaves you a little uncertain of how you're feeling.
Rated 15 Dec 2008
100
99th
The most conceptually immersive movie that I have ever seen. You don't feel that you are Max but you have the same experience as Max. You can't avoid being implicated as you watch it.
Rated 12 Jan 2009
99
92nd
the true William Burroughs adaptation - very similar to his ideas for mental disorder through drug's fault. Just change heroin with TV and you have the right picture.
Rated 18 Mar 2010
7
78th
Cronenberg creates a Burroughs / Pynchon-esque fantasy world of hallunication and fear. His metaphor for television having a negative impact on our perception of reality is a nightmarish hell called 'Videodrome' which controls and alters thought patterns, going as far as creating 'new flesh.' The plot is labyrinthine, and the sleazy life of the protagonist disintegrates as he tries to fight the clutches of this unforseen terror and the onset of existential decay. It's the stuff of high tension.
Rated 13 Aug 2010
100
94th
Sexy, scary, thoughtful. There is a jagged poetry at work, because the visuals and the subject matter will put you into convulsions or make you doubt your sanity.
Rated 19 Oct 2010
87
86th
One insane fuck of a film! I've only seen it once so far and I wanna see it a few more times to try and understand it, or confuse myself, further. What I do know is that this is about censorship and shows these themes in a bodily fashion only Cronenberg would have the mutilated balls to do so. Although unintentional, this film has turned out to be more about the internet than television. Disturbing.
Rated 30 Aug 2011
58
61st
In terms of special effects, it's masterful. In terms of plot, it's bizarre. I feel that Cronenberg's inability (or actually, his lack of desire) to tie the plot back to a grounded reality makes it more difficult to rate. Which is why I need to rewatch this.
Rated 01 Nov 2011
87
81st
David Cronenberg's surreal meditation on television rivals NETWORK in depicting television as dangerous stuff in the wrong hands (it's also much less preachy). Cronenberg's script and directing are delightfully imaginative, with some great lines balanced by grotesquely memorable imagery; the special effects are almost joyously perverse. Solid acting, too; James Woods is a bit hammy, but Peter Dvorsky is fun as his comic foil, and Jack Creley is excellent as the tele-philosopher Brian O'Blivion.
Rated 09 Feb 2015
95
91st
Cronenberg's greatest synthesis of body horror, absurdist satire and humanity's relationship with technology. It's consistently gripping with its noir-esque pacing, tantalizing with its hallucinogenic imagery and just pretty damn hilarious. One of a kind: likely Cronenberg's greatest achievement.
Rated 30 Apr 2015
80
84th
This is totally bizarre, a bit grim, but pretty damn good. Gruesome and occasionally baffling, it definitely feels a touch prophetic in some of its messages. Woods is a watchable if a not entirely sympathetic lead, and the rest of the cast deal with their oddball roles effectively. This is very well directed, and the setting, themes and glimpses of body horror contribute to an entertaining and unsettling experience. Recommended.
Rated 13 Jan 2016
85
81st
robocops awkward teenage years
Rated 22 Aug 2019
89
93rd
terrifying and puts many films released even 20 or 30 years later with similar themes to shame. the film seems to lose camp as time goes on, gaining new, deeper meaning. prophetic.
Rated 06 Nov 2021
90
92nd
City-TV use to be so gross I'm drawn to this Cronenberg terror a lot not because the hand gun cream corn deaths are disgusting or Debbie Harry or James Woods growing a VCR vagina but it's just under 90 minutes The closest to videodrome new flesh I've ever gotten is we borrowed a cable box thing in the early 90s and I watched Ernest Scared Stupid and Ghost in the Machine back to back.
Rated 20 Mar 2007
85
86th
Biting, politically-minded Horror film. Some of the reference is lost to time, and the special effects which were striking for the time now seem cheap. But still, this film holds a lot of weight even today, James Woods is an incredibly charismatic lead and Deborah Harry is darkly sexy.
Rated 07 Aug 2007
90
86th
A surreal, mind twisting delight.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
82
79th
A nice and delicious slice of disturbing cinema. Unforgettable.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
93rd
Up from 80. Man I love Cronenberg.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
87
72nd
Ahead of its time and disturbingly prophetic, Videodrome represents a needed stepping stone as Cronenberg evolved from body-horror.
Rated 22 Mar 2008
84
74th
This prescient effort forecasts a time when it takes nothing short of a snuff film to get people's attention. Lest it seem too heady with all this social commentary, this is absolutely Cronenberg in peak gross-out form, complete with a yonic slit that appears upon Woods's midsection allowing him to handily store things like videotapes and guns inside his torso. It's a film where "cerebral" applies equally to the themes and the fact that brains are going to get graphically spilled at some point.
Rated 31 May 2008
6
54th
Needs a rewatch.
Rated 28 Nov 2008
8
85th
Long live the New Flesh.
Rated 30 Dec 2008
85
77th
Insanely bizarre and convoluted an interesting watch however especially for the tons and tons of makeup and plastic goo effects.
Rated 30 Jan 2009
100
97th
This movie sure was prescient..
Rated 14 Feb 2009
65
65th
Videodrome is of importance not just because it influenced others, but also because much of Cronenberg's own work afterward (Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, Exiztenz, etc) seems like variations on its theme. Cronenberg has a phobic vision of technology, whereof its illusions invade reality to twist and irreversibly distort it. I actually like the first half hour of Videodrome the best. It thrilled me less the more it turned surreal, sinking under a thick gravy of its own obvious symbolism.
Rated 31 Mar 2009
90
88th
Ugly and twisted, but it was a good conversation regardless.
Rated 22 Apr 2009
88
86th
So, so far ahead of its time as far as subject matter goes, almost to the point that it detracts from the film. That being said, the concept is so powerful that this film demands rewatching/discussion.
Rated 26 Apr 2009
90
96th
David Cronenberg's gold.
Rated 28 Apr 2009
90
85th
LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH Great effects work
Rated 29 Apr 2009
4
93rd
Fascinating.
Rated 09 May 2009
90
52nd
Long live the new flesh! One of Cronenberg's best (and most accessible) films.
Rated 22 Jun 2009
85
92nd
This is a GREAT sci-fi / horror film. Cronenberg was really in touch with the technological revolution at this time and cashing in on movies that used technology to produce fear. James Woods is excellent, and the special effects are mind blowing.
Rated 29 Jul 2009
95
93rd
sick and twisted
Rated 31 Jul 2009
88
94th
Cronenberg weirdness.... yes please!
Rated 21 Jan 2010
89
90th
Endlessly rich for discussion of technology + the body, reality + hallucination (or TV), this is all at once depraved neo-noir, posthuman body horror, and visceral cyberpunk. Its cautionary "TV is bad!" theme is made more interesting by incredible '80s effects and a bit of surrealism serving to distort perception. Long live the new flesh.
Rated 21 Mar 2010
86
91st
Cronenberg's most wacked-out and challenging pre-_Naked Lunch_ film has a powerhouse performance from Woods. Confident supporting performances capture every little shade and nuance of their characters. Tight, imaginative writing and direction from Cronenberg and some awesome Rick Baker makeup FX underscore one of the Canadian horror maestro's best.
Rated 09 May 2010
95
91st
Cronenberg classic. Whenever I see this on TV, I will sit and watch it until the end. Long live the new flesh!
Rated 15 Jun 2010
89
87th
Cronenberg is the master of creeping me the hell out.
Rated 18 Jul 2010
35
20th
What is Videodrome? Here's a VHS tape of a man being whipped and strangled. Who is Videodrome? Let's have a discussion on the ethical concerns of too much media exposure JUST KIDDING here's a woman who get's turned out by snuff films and bad special effects. When is Videodrome? It's like Jacob's Ladder, but you don't care about any of the characters. A vain, bland mystery with no real mystery, plausibility or plot resolution.
Rated 05 Aug 2010
100
90th
The film that introduced me to David Cronenburg, and started my life obsession with these body-horror type films.
Rated 08 Dec 2010
86
74th
Reality TV is the new Videodrome.
Rated 10 Dec 2010
79
98th
The mutant love child of The Evil Dead and Network, naturally.
Rated 10 Mar 2011
85
73rd
The best of the early Cronenberg, already realizing the power of media and the creepy shit that can be involved in producing/consuming it.
Rated 05 Apr 2011
88
70th
This movie is simply amazing. Cronemberg rocks!
Rated 05 Sep 2011
78
75th
Very weird, and kind of unsettling. But I liked it. The gorey special effects are awesome. Needs a rewatch though
Rated 28 Sep 2011
78
82nd
The sight of James Wood's ass made me have hallucinations...or was it Videodrome!? Loved the ending, though. No way does mainstream Hollywood let a director get away with that today. And those living video tapes? Vaginastic!
Rated 06 Oct 2011
80
71st
The first Cronenberg I've really gotten into, though I probably couldn't adequately explain why. It's truly a chaotic smorgasbord of ideas, like if Paddy Chayefsky took his scripts for Altered States and Network and smushed them together. I can at least tell that it's about media consumption, almost as though it were a necessary resource like food. It's textbook body horror, though the body ultimately stands as a metaphor for the mind. This movie is making me write weird things.
Rated 15 Nov 2011
84
81st
Strange in all the right ways, with wonderfully disturbing effects. I can't type anymore, my skull feels weird.
Rated 29 Nov 2011
100
97th
Videodrome establishes a principle early on that makes the line between reality and fiction meaningless, and whatever occurs to be taken as equal in objectivity. Because of this the movie has an upper hand over many other psychological mysteries because there's a novelty, and a very smart one that could make other movies that used the same scenes from Videodrome but with a different scenario look gratuitous.
Rated 30 Dec 2011
88
89th
Still Cronenberg's best!
Rated 25 Mar 2012
76
82nd
Just to clarify, the gun that he pulls out of the opening in his chest...does he have a license for that?
Rated 16 Jun 2012
96
91st
Oh man
Rated 13 Dec 2012
70
67th
The plot of this film isn't actually that great. What I liked about it were the messages of condemnation of television. It was treated both as some god-like idol and a malevolent drug. It also seems to be quite prophetic, considering today's entertainment. The other highlight was the great practical effects. So much more real and visceral than the CGI that permeates movies these days. I didn't love it, but it has enough going for it to keep me interested throughout.
Rated 19 Jan 2013
20
8th
I normally like James Woods, but that was before I saw this film. There is so much wrong with this. The story is almost incomprehensible, dumb dialog, stupid special effects, terrible story telling, poor acting, lousy production quality and irritating music. Nothing much is any good in this dated film, except for a few semi-erotic scenes with Deborah Harry and other bits and pieces. This could have been a great movie, but its presentation is lacking in almost every conceivable way.
Rated 09 Feb 2013
65
23rd
I personally find this film to be a mixed bag: an intelligent premise with a highly pertinent message about the future of media, which was ahead of its time, absolutely. The ghastly effects are great, and the first 45 minutes establish a genuinely disturbing atmosphere. The main problem? The second half of the film derails into a clusterfuck of jumbled ideas, as if Cronenberg didn't know where he wanted to go. Perhaps I need to watch it again, but, as it stands...Disappointing.
Rated 11 Feb 2013
95
98th
The ultimate TV-fever film: 1) essay on the social addiction to screen -- in the film, there are individuals who need to be exposed to chatode rays to feel alive, and Max's hallucinations are explained to his contact with Videodrome signal --, 2) a tale about how our desires and urges now (and then) -- sex, violence, suicide -- need an object that reflects us and tells us what to do, 3) and, like the reality revolution in eXistenZ, this is a chronicle (or metaphor) about the rise of a new flesh.
Rated 09 May 2013
85
91st
Although the plot is pretty disjointed, the themes still come across clearly. It's amazing how accurate this movie turned out to be, when you consider the massive success of "torture" movies like Saw and Hostel. "It's just torture and murder. No plot, no characters. Very, very realistic. I think it's what's next."
Rated 12 Oct 2013
90
81st
Works both as an entertaining horror film and as a metaphor for desensitization of the human race as we become obsessed with consuming media.
Rated 11 Jul 2014
65
42nd
Weird, grisly and unmistakably Cronenberg, "Videodrome" may get a little heavy-handed and conservative with its anti-media rant but it visualizes it with such uniqueness and gut it's unforgettable. Not always a pleasant or even satisfying experience but definitely an original one.
Rated 12 Nov 2014
88
95th
Combines all the best qualities in Cronenberg's films. The audacious yet weirdly relatable story is filled with ideas and subtexts that are dealt with a surgical coolness and focus yet the execution is as visceral and affecting as anything with its gut-wrenching visual symbolism and ambiguous psychological threat. Also despite the endless potential for intellectual exchange, it retains a rebellious sense of surreal danger that makes it impossible to fully dissect with any amount of analysis.
Rated 30 Sep 2016
75
81st
it is spoken a lot in the movie, and in an honest way about things becoming hardcore, and how soft is bad, but at the end this film remains quite soft on its own.
Rated 02 Nov 2016
4
74th
Exploring the notion that encounters through a screen are all-the-same tactile, raw, real experiences. Perception is reality, but the notoriously technophobic Cronenberg takes no comfort in external stimuli which threaten solipsist certainty. As virtual and augmented reality become more ubiquitous, Videodrome remains relevant. It's a relief that, by casting villains out of the moral elite who wish to police media, the film manages to avoid a simple "television is bad" cautionary tale.
Rated 18 Feb 2017
9
94th
Soon, all of us will have special names.
Rated 16 Jul 2018
83
83rd
for channel 83
Rated 15 Jul 2019
92
76th
So good. Crazy that all of these 40 year old movies were so prophetic that they just seem trite to us now. Now we're irreversibly plugged into the machine, but in the era of video, we still had an opportunity to avoid this fate. We ignored warnings like this movie I guess.
Rated 01 Nov 2020
94
95th
I will force a beta tape through James Woods anytime. Just give me the green light
Rated 07 Dec 2006
72
41st
I don't have any particular complaints against this film, it's just that Cronenberg doesn't push my buttons.
Rated 01 Mar 2007
70
82nd
Messed up beyond belief, A great film.
Rated 18 Mar 2007
67
36th
Videodrome gives me mixed feelings. On one hand I enjoy the interesting story, but on the other I don't appreciate the stupid way it's told and the relatively weak performances in the movie. Overall the bad outweigh the good.
Rated 30 Mar 2007
50
33rd
Weird but somehow not very satisfying (Cronenberg's oeuvre in a nutshell)
Rated 03 Jul 2007
70
78th
Magnificently creepy.

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