I love the opening - a cheeky advertisement for the apartment tower featured in the film, over which credits roll. I love the first concurrent scenes - strong violence juxtaposed with the perfectly mundane introduction to the tower of potential new tenants. From there 'Shivers' develops slowly, with unsettling goings-on and acutely jarring scenes scattered across the next half hour or so, paired with surprisingly thorough dialogue to set up the plot for the rest of the film. At that point, though, events escalate quickly, and the spiral of sex and violence can begin in earnest.
The premise is curious, and the concept underlying that premise even more so - but it's an oddity that's ripe for storytelling potential. For much of the initial length the film takes a more restrained approach that works to build a distinctly unsettling atmosphere. Make no mistake, though - that disquiet is increasingly punctuated by some truly bold, unexpected scenes that are weirdly disturbing - and also wonderfully fun. At first the pacing comes off as a little lethargic, but it's only to allow the sequence of events to progress naturally, without being forced. I was anticipating a concretely visceral, bombastic explosion of aggression and passion, and that's just what we get - only on its own time, and not ours, a show of determination for which I am glad. The writing here is solid through and through, and David Cronenberg's eye and guiding hand as director is just as confident and well practiced. Characters, scenes, and the overall narrative are gratifyingly complete, and compelling, and the movie absolutely holds our attention from the very start.
Everyone involved is clearly having such a good time bringing this cheeky, creepy, clever tale to fruition, and it's a joy to watch them at play. The makeup and effects are fantastic, including substantial blood, gore, and the excellent little plot device around which the whole narrative is slyly crafted. Though marginally sluggish in the first third, the feature builds most marvelously to an electrifying, entertaining sequence of events for the bulk of the runtime - culminating in an exquisite climax and ending. And with that said, not only can I happily overlook early plodding, but I think the remainder of the film handily outweighs any marginal shortcoming.
This is full of nudity, sex, and violence, and it's not for the squeamish, either. But this is tremendously exciting, invigorating, and highly enjoyable as a superb slice of sci-fi horror. With the noted content warning out of the way, I'd be remiss not to recommend this to just about anyone who appreciates the genre: 'Shivers' is an outstanding, stimulating, smart and boisterous film that's very much worth seeking out wherever you might find it.
The premise is curious, and the concept underlying that premise even more so - but it's an oddity that's ripe for storytelling potential. For much of the initial length the film takes a more restrained approach that works to build a distinctly unsettling atmosphere. Make no mistake, though - that disquiet is increasingly punctuated by some truly bold, unexpected scenes that are weirdly disturbing - and also wonderfully fun. At first the pacing comes off as a little lethargic, but it's only to allow the sequence of events to progress naturally, without being forced. I was anticipating a concretely visceral, bombastic explosion of aggression and passion, and that's just what we get - only on its own time, and not ours, a show of determination for which I am glad. The writing here is solid through and through, and David Cronenberg's eye and guiding hand as director is just as confident and well practiced. Characters, scenes, and the overall narrative are gratifyingly complete, and compelling, and the movie absolutely holds our attention from the very start.
Everyone involved is clearly having such a good time bringing this cheeky, creepy, clever tale to fruition, and it's a joy to watch them at play. The makeup and effects are fantastic, including substantial blood, gore, and the excellent little plot device around which the whole narrative is slyly crafted. Though marginally sluggish in the first third, the feature builds most marvelously to an electrifying, entertaining sequence of events for the bulk of the runtime - culminating in an exquisite climax and ending. And with that said, not only can I happily overlook early plodding, but I think the remainder of the film handily outweighs any marginal shortcoming.
This is full of nudity, sex, and violence, and it's not for the squeamish, either. But this is tremendously exciting, invigorating, and highly enjoyable as a superb slice of sci-fi horror. With the noted content warning out of the way, I'd be remiss not to recommend this to just about anyone who appreciates the genre: 'Shivers' is an outstanding, stimulating, smart and boisterous film that's very much worth seeking out wherever you might find it.