by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport and Editor in Chief

If you’re looking to spend Valentine’s Day weekend with a demon and a side of flesh, the Philly Film Society Center has you covered. This Friday, they kick things off with an epic Valentine’s Day soiree in partnership with Girls Like Horror and MovieJawn for their fourth annual screening of Possession. On Saturday, join your fellow body horror lovers for a screening of the 1999 David Cronenberg overlooked sci-fi (dare I say romantical?) classic, eXistenZ hosted by special guest, New York Film Critic and author, Violet Lucca in celebration of her recent book release, David Cronenberg: Clinical Trials.

I am by no means a Cronenberg scholar, (if you’re looking for one of those here at MovieJawn, I highly recommend staff writer, Tori Potenza), but I have dipped my toe into his filmography far enough to call myself a dabbler. Frankly, his motion pictures often overwhelm me. When I sit down to watch a Cronenberg, I feel that I have to mentally prepare myself for what I am about to experience. I don’t believe his films should come with a warning, as I believe that is a bit redundant, instead they should come with a guarantee label stating: will elicit a strong emotional response. When looking at present day filmmaking as a whole, there are few that have the capability to actually conjure a deeply meaningful reaction from me. For this reason, I am able to marathon movies. Specifically, in a festival setting it is not uncommon for me to watch three to five films back to back within twenty four hours. This method is not ideal with Cronenberg. If I were to attend a Cronenberg film festival of sorts, it would undoubtedly end with me shriveling into a tight ball in the darkest corner of the cinema. Take for example my encounter with his upcoming spring release, The Shrouds. After witnessing this picture at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, I had trouble focusing for the rest of the day. This happened to be the first watch of the day so, heavens know what the heck I watched afterwards. The thoughts of grief and corpse voyeurism left me in a haze, pining to pet a fluffy dog and partake in a human ritual that I often shy away from: hugging.

With all of this said, I am the first to admit that sometimes I don’t really “get” Cronenberg’s pictures. When I say this I am not discounting my own intelligence, it is more than I have trouble conveying my thoughts about everything I witness, due to the vast amount of time I spend vanquished by my own feelings during the viewing. My letterboxd review of Crash (1996) says it all: “David C. makes some wild flicks.”. The way in which I consume his movies is very much how I experience a David Lynch picture. I need time to ruminate and allow what I just witnessed to simmer in my brain. It is helpful to me to see seek other people’s takes on the work as I try to understand my own sentiments. For this reason I love that Violet’s book exists and after our recent chat I am even more excited to get my hands on it.

With Cronenberg’s work spanning over fifty years, there is so much to be explored and, although I have not had the opportunity to yet read Violet’s debut film book, it appears to be beautifully crafted. Judging from Violet’s previous writing I am confident that within the pages the reader will find her thoughts into this filmmaker’s work to be meaningful and insightful. Described as an “illustrated monograph” the film book is divided into two parts, Individuation and Psychotherapy, and includes beautiful stills and illustrations. With part one mostly exploring the early films of Cronenberg while the second part dives into the later filmography. David Cronenberg: Clinical Trials may be her debut but, in taking a look at her resume, there is no question that this opportunity was the perfect match. Studying cinema and film production at the University of Iowa, Violet later received her master’s degree in cinema studies from New York University in 2009, which provided her with a well rounded background. Her writing has previously appeared in numerous publications such as Sight & Sound, Film Comment and The Village Voice. Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Violet ahead of her visit to Philadelphia.

Don’t miss the screening of eXistenZ at Philadelphia Film Society center this Saturday at 7pm. Violet will be conducting a Q&A after the screening as well as a book signing. Tickets are available here.

*Violet Lucca photo compliments of her website* *here*

Rosalie Kicks (RK): Do you recall your first experience with a Cronenberg film?

Violet Lucca (VL): I was probably a junior at the University of Iowa and taking a class on horror. We watched The Fly. It was something in my mind that had been around… but to see it completely really upset me in a way that I did not expect. I had to run some errands afterwards and I emailed my roommate at the time and was like, “Brianna can you just please come be with me for a second…”. I was completely fucked up by that movie. So, that was my first experience. After that, I started watching stuff like Videodrome, Crash, Scanners, and began moving through the catalog. When I was in college, the sadness, not as much the fright but the deeply unnerving feeling; this was something that always interested me.

RK: What interested you in writing about David Cronenberg’s work?

VL: I really enjoy spending time with the films, so the idea of writing a book about Cronenberg felt like an honor. And of course I wanted to rise to meet the challenge. It was like a cool dream had come true.

RK: I read that you find the term “body horror” to be “reductive and dismissive” when describing Cronenberg’s films. Would you elaborate on this?

Can’t make the event? Purchase Violet’s book here

VL: It is one of those things that I feel might have started as an academic term and it is now a marketing term, right? Same for final girl. Much of this stuff is sort of like plucked from somebody’s academic paper or a book, and it becomes this way to describe that the movie is like this other “thing”. It sort of pigeonholes his work; it is a very dull way to talk about his films, because there is so much more going on. I loved The Substance and people were calling it body horror, but what she is doing is so completely different from what he (Cronenberg) is doing.

RK: What are you hoping the reader takes away from your book?

VL: I sort of aimed to have something that would be available to people that are new to Cronenberg or those that are familiar. I wanted to offer some ideas that one can take away from the work but share a new lens to look through and do what you will with it. I didn’t want to be didactic, as the films are so big and rich.

RK: I read that you conducted interviews with some of David’s collaborators. Who did you speak with?

VL: Howard Shore, who’s the composer that has worked with Cronenberg. Carol Spier, his production designer since, Fast Company. His cinematographer, Peter Suschitzky (Dead Ringers). Sir Christopher Hampton, who wrote A Dangerous Method and Jeremy Thomas, a producer.

RK: If someone never watched a Cronenberg movie before, which would you tell them to start with?

VL: I really like this question a lot because so much of my movie advice depends on the person who is asking. I am not going to tell someone to start with Scanners who’s only ever seen a Mike Leigh film or somebody who likes Fast and The Furious. I’m not gonna… well, maybe Scanners might work a little but, but more of Cronenberg’s genre ones might work better with somebody who’s more familiar with blockbusters; it is very dependent on the person. If someone is maybe more into like, romantic films or more conventional, I might suggest something like, Dangerous Method or M. Butterfly and then sort of work into other things. I feel like if you have a nice starting point you can really grow from there. I don’t like when somebody starts with the hardest movie possible; it is just counterproductive and it keeps movies kind of shut off from people who may not be cinephiles.

RK: Any other details you want to add about the upcoming event at Philly Film Society Center?

VL: I will be doing a talk afterwards, signing books and I do think eXistenZ is a good movie for couples; it’s a good movie for people who are single and haven’t found the right person or they have not found the right bioport. Something for everybody, right?

Can’t make it to Saturday’s event at Philly Film Society Center? Purchase Violet’s book here.

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