A controversial body horror film that prompted mass walkouts when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival is now available to stream for free on BBC iPlayer. David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future, starring Twilight’s Kristen Stewart and The Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen has divided audiences with its graphic content and provocative themes.
Set in a dystopian future where humans have adapted to a synthetic environment, the film follows performance artist Saul Tenser, played by Mortensen, and his partner Caprice as they publicly showcase the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Stewart portrays Timlin, an investigator from the National Organ Registry, who becomes entangled in their world.
The film includes unsettling scenes, such as a child autopsy and characters deriving pleasure from licking each other’s open wounds. Cronenberg anticipated strong reactions, stating, “There are some very strong scenes. I’m sure that we will have walkouts within the first five minutes of the movie.”
Despite the controversy, Crimes of the Future received a seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes and holds an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Viewer reactions have been mixed, though. One viewer remarked, “Truly genius movie. There is nothing like it ever made. I recommend it if you are a fan of weird cinema and art in general.”
While another person commented, “This is messed-up!! The film’s tagline, ‘surgery is the new sects’ alone, followed by that exploitative, detestable imagery of that kid on the table, denotes negative and repulsive ideas that not only is it possible in the future, but is really happening around the world.”
And a third user reviewed: “This film is incredibly uncomfortable to watch. Set sometime in the future when people no longer feel pain and all diseases are extinct. This film is not for everyone and you may need a strong stomach to watch it.”
If you’re in the market for some sci-fi action but can’t face Crimes of the Future, BBC iPlayer also has the seven-time Academy Award-nominated film, The Martian.
The movie, starring Matt Damon, broke records, and 10 years on, viewers at home are still awarding it praise and have given it an overall 91% Rotten Tomatoes score.
The Martian follows Mark Watney, played by Damon, an astronaut living out many people’s worst fear, when during a mission to Mars he is presumed dead and left behind by the rest of his crew. He has survived the storm that they believed to have killed him, and he’s left stranded to survive on the hostile planet alone.
Adapted by Drew Goddard from a 2011 novel by Andy Weir, it is directed by award-winning director Ridley Scott, the man behind cult classic films such as Alien and Gladiator.