Gratuitous violence in search of a message

Rating: 3/10 (9 January 2000)

I don't think I've ever been put off a film by its violent content .. until this one. You come out of it feeling like you've been swimming in a tub full of offal. After two hours or so it really starts to become boring, which is disturbing in itself. After it finished though, and I got the more disgusting images out of my mind somewhat, I thought, it really doesn't make much sense either - did anyone ever hear of data backups, maybe? and just how do you wire up a condemned old house for a heap of electronic gismos to conduct a urban warfare campaign? Cronenberg manages all the creepiness and shocking images (e.g. Videodrome) without stooping to the goriness that this film revels in.