Cinema Shock

With 1986’s THE FLY, David Cronenberg achieved something rare: a brutal, grotesque body horror film that was also a deeply emotional, tragic love story.

A remake in name only of the 1958 sci-fi classic, THE FLY stars Jeff Goldblum as eccentric scientist Seth Brundle, whose teleportation experiments go horribly wrong. What follows is a horrifying — and oddly beautiful — descent into mutation, madness, and mortality.

In this episode, we explore how Cronenberg came to the project, the groundbreaking effects that brought Brundlefly to life, and how this film became both a commercial hit and an enduring genre classic. Plus: Geena Davis, maggot birth nightmares, and the Oscar-winning makeup that still holds up today.

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.

Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise, and more: http://cinemashock.net

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After the hallucinatory violence of VIDEODROME, David Cronenberg took a sharp turn into more restrained territory with THE DEAD ZONE, a 1983 adaptation of Stephen King’s best-selling novel.

Starring Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith — a schoolteacher who awakens from a coma with psychic abilities — THE DEAD ZONE trades visceral body horror for emotional devastation, political paranoia, and questions of fate, morality, and personal sacrifice.

In this episode, we dive into how Cronenberg came to direct the project, the film’s stellar cast and evocative tone, and how it stands apart in both Cronenberg’s and King’s cinematic canons. Plus: how THE DEAD ZONE quietly helped shape the prestige horror boom we see today.

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Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.

Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise, and more: http://cinemashock.net

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With VIDEODROME, David Cronenberg pushed his signature blend of body horror and cerebral sci-fi to new heights. Released in 1983, the film stars James Woods as Max Renn, a sleazy cable-TV exec who stumbles onto a pirated broadcast called “Videodrome” — and promptly begins to lose his grip on reality.

A nightmarish meditation on technology, surveillance, sex, and media addiction, VIDEODROME was dismissed by many critics upon release, but has since been re-evaluated as one of Cronenberg’s most prophetic and iconic films.

In this episode, we explore the film’s wild production history, the groundbreaking special effects work by Rick Baker, and the evolving legacy of a movie that predicted the age of screen obsession, viral content, and reality distortion.

Up Next:

THE DEAD ZONE (1983)

THE FLY (1986)

Coming Soon: The films of James Cameron

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.

Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise, and more: http://cinemashock.net

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After the deeply personal horror of THE BROOD, David Cronenberg returned with a more commercial effort — and a bigger budget — in what would become his breakout film: SCANNERS.

Released in 1981, SCANNERS blends science fiction, espionage, and psychic body horror into a film that’s perhaps best remembered for one legendary moment of practical effects: the infamous exploding head. But there’s more to this movie than just gore.

In this episode, we’ll trace the film’s chaotic production, how Cronenberg had to begin shooting without a finished script, and how SCANNERS helped elevate his status as an international cult filmmaker.

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.

Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise, and more: http://cinemashock.net

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this bonus episode, our own Mr. Todd A. Davis sits down with legendary character actor Spencer Garrett.

Throughout the interview, they discuss Garrett's entire career, working on everything from STAR TREK to STAR WARS, and with directors like Quentin Tarantino, Michael Bay and, most recently, Adam McKay on the new HBO series WINNING TIME: THE RISE OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY.

Enjoy this bonus episode and be sure to subscribe to Todd's STAR TREK podcast, Computer, Resume Podcast, available everywhere!

After two successful low-budget horror films, David Cronenberg was suddenly one of Canada’s most bankable directors. But rather than immediately dive into another body horror spectacle, he took a detour with FAST COMPANY, a drag racing drama that would ultimately serve as a stepping stone to one of his most acclaimed early films: THE BROOD.

Released in 1979, THE BROOD is widely considered to be Cronenberg’s first masterpiece — and his most personal film. Written during and inspired by his contentious divorce and custody battle, the film is a raw, angry piece of psychodrama dressed up in monster movie clothing.

In this episode, we’ll explore how THE BROOD was financed during Canada’s short-lived “tax shelter era,” why critics accused Cronenberg of misogyny, and how the film’s nightmarish depiction of rage and repression helped cement his reputation as a provocateur of psychological horror.

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.

Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise, and more: http://cinemashock.net

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In the second episode of our series David Cronenberg: The New Flesh, we continue exploring the director’s early years with 1977’s RABID—a film that pushed the boundaries of body horror even further than its predecessor.

Starring adult film icon Marilyn Chambers in her first major mainstream role, RABID tells the story of a woman who undergoes radical surgery after a motorcycle accident… and wakes up with a strange, phallic stinger under her arm that turns her into a literal carrier of disease and death.

In this episode, we’ll dive into how Cronenberg followed up the controversy of SHIVERS, why Chambers was cast, and how RABID reflected his growing fascination with transformation, contagion, and the politics of the body.

We’ll also explore the film’s production and release through the lens of Canada’s tax shelter era, and how RABID cemented Cronenberg’s place as a rising provocateur in horror cinema.

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.

Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise, and more: http://cinemashock.net

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Our latest Cinema Shock series, David Cronenberg: The New Flesh, takes a deep dive into the early films of the Canadian auteur that helped define the genre of body horror.

We begin with 1975’s SHIVERS, Cronenberg’s first commercial feature and a landmark in Canadian cinema. A film about a parasitic STD that turns a luxury high-rise into a sex-crazed nightmare, SHIVERS shocked audiences and critics alike—earning both condemnation in Parliament and instant cult status.

In this episode, we trace Cronenberg’s origins in the Toronto underground film scene, the controversial government funding that helped launch his career, and how SHIVERS established the obsessions—flesh, disease, transformation—that would define his work for decades to come.

We also explore the film’s production history, its reception, and the legacy it left in its wake—both for Cronenberg and for Canadian genre cinema as a whole.

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Coming Up:

RABID (1977)

THE BROOD (1979)

SCANNERS (1981)

VIDEODROME (1983)

THE DEAD ZONE (1983)

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.

Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net

Follow us:

twitter.com/cinema_shock

facebook.com/cinemashocknet

instagram.com/cinema_shock

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Our first pick in the new Cinema Shock Roulette series is a movie that needs no introduction—but it’s getting one anyway.

Released in 2000, Kinji Fukasaku’s BATTLE ROYALE shocked audiences with its graphic depiction of schoolchildren forced into a government-run deathmatch. Based on the controversial novel by Koushun Takami, the film was instantly polarizing—banned in multiple countries, attacked by politicians, and impossible to ignore.

In this episode, we trace the film’s journey from pulp novel to cultural lightning rod. We dive into the production, the Japanese censorship debate, the political context that made the film so dangerous, and how BATTLE ROYALE became a global cult phenomenon that still resonates today. And yes, we’ll talk about THE HUNGER GAMES comparisons, too.

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.

Visit our website for episode archives, merchandise & more: http://cinemashock.net

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As we reach the end of our journey through the filmography of Lana and Lilly Wachowski, we return to the world that made them household names—only this time, it’s a little different.

Released nearly two decades after the original trilogy, THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS was helmed by Lana Wachowski alone, marking the first solo directorial effort by either sibling. The result? A film that’s not just a sequel, but a reflection on legacy, grief, identity, and storytelling itself.

In this final episode of The Wachowskis' Cinema of Fluidity, we explore how this fourth MATRIX film came to be—from the personal tragedy that inspired Lana’s return to the franchise, to Lilly’s decision to step away from it entirely. We also dig into the casting changes, creative choices, and meta-commentary that define RESURRECTIONS—and where it fits in the Wachowski canon.

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Coming Up:

BATTLE ROYALE (2000)

Up next: Long Live the New Flesh: The Body Horror of David Cronenberg

Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, & Todd Davis.

Visit our website for episode archives, blogs and more: http://cinemashock.net

Follow us:

twitter.com/cinema_shock

facebook.com/cinemashocknet

instagram.com/cinema_shock

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