Nate Davies
David Cronenberg crafts films the way Thai street vendors toss noodles. With both, you never really know where one strand ends and the next begins. The flavour of eXistenz comes from a fantastic, physical art direction, palpable in its creation. The score is decidedly deceitful, trying to steer the film from what is seen to what is anticipated. And the cast is noticeably skittish to begin with, opening up slowly as the movie builds to its crescendo. It may seem outdated to some, but this idea of augmenting and altering one's perception through escapist worlds is hard to deny, considering the renewed interest in concepts like virtual and augmented reality. 18 years later, and Cronenberg's genre breaking, video game skewing yarn is still unravelling and yes, still as confusing and relevant as ever.