Videodrome (1983)

VIDEODROME is one of the best examples of body horror cinema, a subgenre which its director and writer David Cronenberg had pioneered and explored previously in Shivers (1975), Rabid (1977), The Brood (1979) and Scanners (1981). VIDEODROME is also a great example of early ATARI product placement, sponsored or not.

Cronenberg is a Canadian auteur with a truly singular vision and voice, especially evident when he works with genre material. The aforementioned films, and later masterpieces such as The Fly (1986), Dead Ringers (1988) and eXistenZ (1999) are all unmistakably Cronenbergian in their psychosexual tone and visceral style, and could not have been made by anyone else.

Videodrome stars James Woods as Max Renn, the president of a TV station in Toronto, who is looking for something sensational to broadcast. Nothing seems to make the cut, but then the station's tech guy shows a mysterious snuff program, which seems to be relayed via a satellite from Malaysia. Renn becomes instantly obsessed, with what is for all intents and purposes torture porn, and believes it is the future of TV, but can't seem to find any information about the makers. When he finally does, it becomes too late to turn back from what is much more than just a show on a TV screen.

ATARI hardware features in multiple scenes. The TV station has an Atari 800 with a Atari 810 Floppy Drive in the broadcast equipment room where Renn watches the Videodrome for the first time. Atari 2600, and especially its joysticks and the game Combat, get plenty of screen time at Renn's home.

And don't forget... LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH!