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Movies / On DVD / eXistenZ
eXistenZ

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eXistenZ (1999)

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Reviews Counted:61

Fresh:44

Rotten:17

Average Rating:6.7/10

Consensus: Gooey, slimy, grotesque fun.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: A renowned international virtual reality game designer (Jennifer Jason Leigh), creator of a new interactive game called eXistenZ, becomes the target of an assassination plot by a group of religious... A renowned international virtual reality game designer (Jennifer Jason Leigh), creator of a new interactive game called eXistenZ, becomes the target of an assassination plot by a group of religious fanatics. She is forced to go into hiding with a novice security guard (Jude Law) sworn to protect her. However, during the chase the two of them experience a world where the boundaries of fantasy and reality are blurred and nothing is as it seems. A psychosexual mindbender from director David Cronenberg. [More]

Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm

Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm, Don McKellar, Sarah Polley, Callum Keith Rennie, Christopher Eccleston, Kristopher Lemche

Director: David Cronenberg

Director: David Cronenberg
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg
Producer: David Cronenberg, Andras Hamori, Robert Lantos
Composer: Howard Shore

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Oct 19, 1999

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Existenz
  • Exciting stars Jennifer Jason Leigh (DOLORES CLAIBORNE), Jude Law (GATTACA), and Willem Dafoe (SPEED 2, AFFLICTION) challenge the boundaries of reality in this futuristic, critically acclaimed adventure thriller! During the first closed-door demonstration of an amazing new virtual reality game called eXistenZ, the system's brilliant designer, Allegra Geller (Leigh), is violently attacked by a crazed assassin intent on killing her and destroying her creation! Forced to flee into hiding, Allegra enlists a young assistant (Law) to help her in testing the damaged system ... by convincing him to join her inside eXistenZ! The action then explodes as their world's real-life dangers begin to merge with the fantasy of the game! If you're ready to play, it's now your turn to plug into this powerfully entertaining hit!
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for eXistenZ

    • T-Meter Critics
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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    It’s a disturbing, disorienting sensation -- puzzles within puzzles, games within games -- that continues right up to the last shot.

    Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
    08/07/08
    Jim Lane
    Jim Lane
    Sacramento News & Review

    Experienced gamers should find much to savor through the films unique assessments on the nature of reality.

    Full Review Source: Projection Booth | comment Comment
    10/25/07
    Rob Humanick
    Rob Humanick
    Projection Booth

    [Cronenberg is] a laughing existentialist here, a philosopher who sees the comedy in disorientation.

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    07/30/07
    Rob Gonsalves
    Rob Gonsalves
    eFilmCritic.com

    I just don't happen to like puzzle films of any kind, but I must credit Mr. Cronenberg with more intellectual depth than most of his fellow pessimistic movie pranksters.

    Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
    04/27/07
    Andrew Sarris
    Andrew Sarris
    New York Observer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Dark, delirious fun.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    01/26/06
    Geoff Andrew
    Geoff Andrew
    Time Out

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Film Threat
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Film Threat
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's good art direction in search of an idea.

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    07/21/05
    Jeff Millar
    Jeff Millar
    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Brave moviegoers and fans of writer-director David Cronenberg will find funny dialogue and grotesquely engrossing scenes in his latest sci-fi horror tale.

    Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
    07/02/04
    Judith Egerton
    Judith Egerton
    Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

    Fans may find certain similarities between eXistenZ and Videodrome bothersome, but both films are the real thing.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    10/23/03
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    05/14/03
    Jeanne Aufmuth
    Jeanne Aufmuth
    Palo Alto Weekly

    An evolution for the filmmaker that will reach maturity in the quiet, devastatingly economical eloquence of Spider.

    Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
    03/09/03
    Walter Chaw
    Walter Chaw
    Film Freak Central

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    12/08/02
    Film Threat
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    12/08/02
    Film Threat
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    11/07/02
    James Rocchi
    James Rocchi
    Netflix

    a genuinely jolting yarn... Cronenberg eventually succeeds in making the audience feel as disoriented as Allegra...

    Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
    06/23/02
    James Sanford
    James Sanford
    Kalamazoo Gazette

    Cronenberg's commentary here, though grotesque, belies a certain intelligence.

    Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
    06/05/02
    Annlee Ellingson
    Annlee Ellingson
    Boxoffice Magazine

    The premise is solid, the script is clever and well-thought-out, and the movie is consistently engaging...

    Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
    04/03/02
    William Arnold
    William Arnold
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer

    Bringing a light touch to the grave issues of mortality, illusion, identity, and technology that have obsessed him throughout his career, Cronenberg turns them into a diverting, disorienting, ultimately inconsequential hand of solitaire.

    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    03/24/02
    Peter Keough
    Peter Keough
    Boston Phoenix

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    03/19/02
    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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