On this day, 23 April, in 1999, one of my favorite films was released: eXistenZ.

This was right after The Matrix was released and a lot of people think that if that hadn’t been the case, eXistenZ would have been a hit. The two films have a number of similarities. But people who think this are wrong. eXistenZ was never going to appeal to a wide audience.

eXistenZ is way too Cronenberg. Who thinks, “I’ve got this idea for a film about game realities so obviously we’re going hard into amphibian organs”? Well, David Cronenberg, of course. Even by his standards, this film is pretty weird.

It’s also way too clever for a multiplex audience. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that it’s hard to really appreciate eXistenZ the first time through. There are so many signs that things are wrong at the beginning of the film. Yet I just went with them, assuming that was the reality of the film. On second viewing, funny things stand out like Gas working at COUNTRY GAS STATION.

There are only a few other Cronenberg films that see him in top form: Videodrome, The Fly, Naked Lunch, and Crash. Who knows how I would rank these films. Any filmmaker should count their blessing that they made one film as good as any one of these in a whole career.

The thing about eXistenZ is that it’s the Cronenberg film I’ve watched the most. So in that way, it could be considered his best (as far as I’m concerned). But that’s not fair given the profound effect the other films have on me — especially Crash.

So is eXistenZ David Cronenberg’s feel-good people pleasing film? Maybe for Cronenberg fans. Most people I’ve introduced to the film hated it. But if you haven’t seen it, and you are reading this, I suspect you’ll love it.

Other 23 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Ernest Laszlo (1898-1984): Cinematographer of many genre films like DOA, Fantastic Voyage, and Logan’s Run.
• Myron Waldman (1908-2006): Animator for Fleischer Studios.
• Simone Simon (1911-2005): Star of Cat People and The Curse of the Cat People.
• Shirley Temple (1928-2014): Star of musicals throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
• Lee Majors (1939-): The One, The Only, The Six Million Dollar Man. He also played Ash’s dad in Ash vs Evil Dead.
• Hervé Villechaize (1943-1993): Actor known for Fantasy Island and The Man with the Golden Gun.
• Michael Moore (1954-): Comedy documentary filmmaker.
• Craig Sheffer (1960-): Actor in Nightbreed and The Grave.
• George Lopez (1961-): Actor known for comedies like Balls of Fury.
• John Hannah (1962-): The comedy relief in The Mummy franchise.

Films:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1912): The first filmed version of the story — now lost.
• She (1917): 50-minute silent fantasy film.
• The Vanishing Shadow (1934): Revenge serial.
• The Mystery of Marie Roget (1942): Noir mystery.
• Rattlers (1976): Toxic chemicals make rattlesnakes super aggressive.
• Carnage (1984): Andy Milligan film featuring newlyweds haunted by newlyweds.
• The Dark Half (1993): Romero film based on a Stephen King novel about a writer whose retired pen name comes to life kills people.
• Beyond Re-Animator (2003): The third Re-Animator film is a ton of fun.
• Requiem For A Vampire (2006): Vampires run a blood bank.
• Through the Woods (2010): Paranoid horror.

eXistenZ (1999) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.