ScannersandThe FlydirectorDavid Cronenbergreturns to his body horror roots in the first teaser forCrimes of the Future. Released courtesy ofNeon,Crimes of the FuturestarsViggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart, with the newly released teaser giving us a mere glimpse of the warped cinematic experience to come.
Not to be confused with David Cronenberg’s 1970 science fiction outing of the same name (for a while thereit was believed that thisCrimes of the Futurecould be a remake),Crimes of the Futuredrops us into a world that can only come from the mind of Cronenberg. “As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations,” the logline alongside the teaser trailer reads. “With his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed… Their mission – to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.”
Looking equal parts grotesque, bizarre, unnerving, intriguing, and all kinds of disturbing,Crimes of the Futureis a clear return to the kinds of body horror that David Cronenberg made his name with the likes ofScanners, The Fly, Crash,andExistenz, as Viggo Mortensen uses bizarre, skeletal technology to change his body in the name of art. Amongst the shows of Mortensen and his twisted performance, the teaser forCrimes of the Futureis packed with nightmare-inducing glimpses at the rest of the movie. Certainly,Crimes of the Futurewill be a troubling, but hopefully rewarding experience. So long as you’re able to stomach it of course.
While some had thought thatCrimes of the Futurewould be a more conventional retelling of Cronenberg’s 1970 venture of the same name, thisCrimes of the Futurelooks like a huge departure from that one, although some of the same ideas may be folded into the story. “I have unfinished business with the future,” Cronenberg has previously said of the new project.
Crimes of the Future Will Cause Walk-Outs, Fainting & Panic Attacks
Crimes of the Futurehas been some lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you feel about body horror) by a select few at a recent Los Angeles screening. And one anonymous audience member has teased the sheer vulgarity of the picture, stating thatCrimes of the Futurewill stir up far more controversy than David Cronenberg’s already more-than-controversial-enough 1996 divisive outing,Crash.
“I cannot say much, obviously, but… this is going to create way more chaos and controversy for sure,” the anonymous viewer said of Crimes of the Future. “The last twenty minutes are a very tough sit. I expect walk-outs, faintings and real panic attacks (I almost had one myself!) at [Cannes Film Festival’s] Lumière theatre. No hyperbole, I promise.”
Crimes of the Futurewill feature at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
