Shivers.

Review #1624: Shivers.

Cast: 

Paul Hampton (Roger St. Luc), Joe Silver (Rollo Linsky), Lynn Lowry (Nurse Forsythe), Alan Migicovsky (Nicholas Tudor), Susan Petrie (Janine Tudor), Barbara Steele (Betts), Ronald Mlodzik (Merrick), Barry Boldero (Det. Heller), Camil Ducharme (Mr. Guilbault), Hanka Posnanska (Mrs. Guilbault), Wally Martin (Doorman), Vlasta Vrána (Kresimer Sviben), and Silvie Debois (Benda Sviben) Written and Directed by David Cronenberg (#816 - Crimes of the Future, #1127 - eXistenZ, #1220 - A History of Violence, and #1239 - Stereo)

Review: 

"If you admit to the possibilities of the most horrific things, then maybe they won't happen. It's what I do when I make movies. You're hoping it's going to stay on the screen and not come into your life." 

There have been a variety of important directors in cinema that came from the nation of Canada, but David Cronenberg most certainly is one of the most transgressive to help shape the course of cinema in body horror with films that provoke just as much interpretation as they inspire squeamish feeling. They inspire confrontation as much as they do chills because they involve qualities of life that are not easy to face in clear comfort, as he aspires to take the audience on a journey to ask questions without needing clear answers. The Toronto native had an interest as a child in reading from a young age (owing to his parents, a journalist and a musician in their interests), ranging from science fiction to comic books to EC Comics, and his initial interest was to become a novelist. While he was an avid cinemagoer (ranging from Westerns to Bambi to The Blue Lagoon), it was the screening of Winter Kept Us Warm (1966) by fellow University of Toronto classmate David Secter that sparked him to get into filmmaking, which he started with experimental work in 1966 that led to two shorts and two arthouse features. Cronenberg approached Cinepix with his script first. The company, if one did not know, had been started in 1962 under the leadership of John Dunning and Andre Link, and Cronenberg would note them as crucial influences on him (the former for filmmaking and the latter on the finance side). The Montreal-based company went from distributing films in Canada and the United States to eventually doing their own with Valerie (1969). They had wanted to tap into the independent market with horror (as was the case with Roger Corman and his films at the time) instead of just sensual-tinged work (the company persists on to the day, although you might recognize them under their current name as Lionsgate Films). Cronenberg had just two films to his output at the time (which were basically like underground work), and Cinepix desired to buy his script without having him direct. Cronenberg was not willing to let his script be filmed without him, and he was close to approaching the lower budget-minded studios in Hollywood and doing the film there before funding was found, with the Canadian Film Development Corporation (now known as Telefilm Canada) helping to allocate funds. Ivan Reitman (co-founder of the Toronto Film Co-op with Cronenberg) served as producer for the film (alongside music supervisor), and he would work with Cronenberg and Cinefix again with his next film in Rabid two years later alongside his own breakthrough venture with Meatballs (1979). The film was shot for $185,000 over the course of 15 days. Joe Blasco was the effects man for the film, and it certainly goes to show the state of the Canadian industry to see this as one of the first serious horror films in the nation.

There were numerous titles that came before and after production occurred, with the initial working title being "Orgy of the Blood Parasites", while the title done for filming was "The Parasite Murders", and in America it was released as "They Came from Within". The funny thing is that the uproar over the film nearly overshadowed the fact that the film was a success from the start with audiences. Since it had been funded in part by the government, there was a bit of commotion done about its merits, most notably with an article in Saturday Night magazine, in which it was felt that Canada shouldn't have a film industry if films like this needed to be made to have an industry; reportedly, the article delayed production of Cronenberg's next film with Rabid (1977) in terms of setting up funding. Obviously time has proven Cronenberg infinitely correct in this regard, since Shivers serves as an important shift in the director's career as his first triumph that serves as a creeping gem. I readily enjoyed the film in its low-budget creeping chills, one that that shows a degree of dark humor within a somewhat familiar premise that works over its limitations for interesting entertainment. We are talking about a movie involving hedonistic zombies that desire pleasure while creeping into your body, after all. Cronenberg has noted that some of the elements might seem familiar when compare to Alien (1979). Think about it: we have a creature that go around a location through someone's orifices and lurk within the stomach that happen to burn acid if in contact with someone's face (Cronenberg once noted that if free love really was true, would this not be what it actually looked like?) - interpret it for yourself, since the writer of that film (Dan O'Bannon) noted that he didn't steal the idea from anybody, he stole it "from everybody!" The effects were done through a combination of condoms, tubing, bottles, and coat hangers that helped move the parasite around to simulate being in the body or being outside, and while the wires might be visible at certain times (like the shot involving it going across the grass), I found it fascinating in its gruesomeness, unsettling with its gooey movement, one that will certainly fit for these monsters of lust. 

The acting is okay, showing a mix of somewhat familiar faces and voices with more obscure ones. Hampton for example was more known as a singer and composer, although he did spots on film and TV. He does alright here, even if he seems more indifferent that readily concerned with the growing trend of craven creatures desiring each other's flesh. Silver was noted for his deep voice and roughly a thousand appearances on television alongside occasional appearances in film. He certainly makes a useful impression in terms of moving the plot forward, and he even gets in on the parasite action near the end for effect. Lowry is known for her horror appearances (such as The Crazies), and she proves the best performance for the film, one with captivating spirit that seems out of place with the growing weirdness, and it is her scene in the climax that proves quite fascinating about desire and dreams. Migicovsky and Petrie don't have as much lasting effect, with the former being used more for the stomach (with a creature inside) and the latter to react to all that (plus a scene with Betts), which is okay but not as interesting as the others (Petrie apparently needed to have Cronenberg slap her really hard in order for her to cry when the cameras needed her to cry). Steele doesn't have as much to do, but at least the scene spent in the tub is squirmy enough. Mlodzik is the branch from the previous Cronenberg films, with this being the third of four appearances, and he plays the smarmy manager just fine. The 87 minutes go by with some shivers at what we see play out through a film not afraid of limitations or taboos that strikes a chord with its perversions of the flesh that is entertaining without becoming a lynchpin for weirdness without some sort of interest to keep coming back to where it wants to go. For a director that would only hone his craft further with interesting films involving the body and horror, this is certainly a good starting point to go with Cronenberg and his dazzling display of terror within us. It is a nasty one that might not hit everyone's mark, but I got a kick out of where it wanted to go in unsettling nature to make it count.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.