This Wild and Taboo Cronenberg Movie Is Now Streaming—Even Guillermo del Toro Calls it “Disturbing”
Are you in the mood for a boundary-pushing erotic thriller with body horror overtones that comes recommended by Guillermo del Toro? If you are up for such an adventure, we’ve got just what you need. Oh, and did we mention that the film in question just so happens to be helmed by the one and only David Cronenberg? Keep reading below for del Toro’s full endorsement, which comes from a Tweet championing the flick as a sorely under-seen effort.
Del Toro wrote:
“RIGHTING A WRONG. Film for Day 9: Crash by David Cronenberg. The Master. Disturbing, sexy and hard as steel.”
Wow, we couldn’t have said it any better than del Toro did. This picture is undoubtedly subversive, dealing with edgy themes and giving viewers a voyeuristic view of fetish culture, a type of which we rarely see in mainstream filmmaking. More specifically, this unflinching effort explores a subculture of folks who take quite a liking to twisted metal.
If all this talk of eroticized automobile mishaps has you eager to experience the film for yourself, you can presently find Crash streaming on Kanopy!
Check out the full synopsis:
Crash is about the strange lure of auto collision, provoking as it does the human fascination with death and the tendency to eroticize danger. Most motorists will slow down to stare at the scene of a collision; they may feel their pulses quickening and become aware of the fragility of their own bodies. The characters of Crash carry this awareness a step further, cherishing and nurturing it. For them, a car collision is a sexual turn-on and a jolting life force they come to crave.
Cronenberg takes the sole writing credit on this picture, in addition to helming the project. Although the flick has amassed a cult following, it didn’t perform particularly well at the box office. There are conflicting accounts regarding total returns, but most indicate that the picture made under $4 million against a budget closer to $9 million.
The film sports a dreaded NC-17 rating, which surely played a role in this feature’s modest returns. Such a classification makes it nearly impossible to get a picture shown in mainstream theater chains. However, leaning into that rating is a bold move, and I admire Cronenberg for putting his film out there exactly as he intended, rather than trying to place commercial viability ahead of his creative vision.
So, there you have it, dear reader. Crimson Peak director Guillermo del Toro sees infinite merit in David Cronenberg’s Crash. If you enjoy subversive art that pushes boundaries, you may find yourself equally taken with the flick. If you’ve yet to experience the film, make your way over to Kanopy to see what you think.
Stay tuned to the site for more updates and recommendations from your favorite creators as we unearth them. In the meantime, you can keep up with my admittedly benign comings and goings on Threads. I am active on the platform as @FunWithHorror.
Categorized: News
