Shivers

The human anatomy, both from horror and sexual perspectives, and a major distrust of technology and societal permissiveness runs throughout David Cronenberg’s body of work. 1975’s Shivers was Cronenberg’s first feature-length film, and a preview of his oeuvre. Following the, uh, we’ll call them misadventures of a phallic-looking parasite that’s responsible for transforming an entire luxury apartment community, if not all of Canada, into a satirical vision of 70s high life and free love. Free love isn’t free and Cronenberg argues that it’s as strict an ideology and movement as what it was reacting against. With nowhere to run and nowhere to hide from the all-consuming infection, there’s only one way this could end: an orgy in the swimming pool that’s as much about sexual fluids as it is about blood and viscera. Shivers is basked in dingy colors and an ugliness that’s hard to shake as it goes straight to the core of the film. It’s fascinating if low budget with the seams showing, but also a unique look for an artist laying bare their future obsessions and themes. You can see the groundwork for later masterpieces like Videodrome, The Fly, and A Dangerous Method, even if it’s not quite the equal of those works.