While peering at the various videos at my local F.Y.E. store, I came upon a section only a guy like me could love. It was here that a small handful of videos had been marked down to an astonishing $1.99! Knowing that I couldn't pass up such an opportunity, I immediately picked out three movies from the shelf: Car 54, Where Are You (perfectly dreadful, and not even worth the aforementioned $1.99), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (haven't sat down to watch that one yet), and today's feature, Videodrome. I was surprised to learn that James Woods was in this movie, and figured, since it was in the cheap-o section, it would be a corny horror or sci-fi production. I watched about half and then had to stop it for some reason or another, only to come back many days later to finish what I had started. So what was my deduction? Well, Videodrome is one odd duck of a film, ladies and gentlemen. It's not some obvious, spell-it-out-for-the-audience spook fest where everything is explained and the audience can turn it off with a clear idea of what the heck just happened. Honestly, and this is after finishing it not half an hour ago, I'm not really sure what was going on. And while I resent the poster who said the "stupid people" should "avoid this art flick," I can safely say many will not get Videodrome either. The story, which follows James Woods as he is haunted by a television show which features torture and murder, has many twists and turns that go by so quickly you can't put 2 and 2 together. VHS tapes "breathe," TV screens expand like balloons, and for some reason Woods' stomach splits open so people can put tapes inside his body. Uh...okay. I couldn't help but think some parts of the movie were a little slow or dull, but the effects were very creative. Sure, present audiences will point out the more obvious stuff like fake hands and such, but the makeup is nicely gory and does the job well. After sifting through the main IMDb site for Videodrome I found that the director also made Existenz, another reality-bending movie which starred William Dafoe and other big name stars who, at the time, weren't so big. Comparing the two I can say the director has a very distinct style, pairing oddball plotlines with very unique visuals. I may have to watch this a couple of more times to actually "get" the point of it all, but Videodrome will be recommended today for those who like something a little different. A tentative 3/4 stars.
Review of Videodrome
