Legendary horror director David Cronenberg returns with his latest film, Crimes of the Future. Featuring Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux, the movie follows a performance duo of Saul (Mortensen) and Caprice (Seydoux) as they show audience members Saul’s ability to add and remove organs from his body. 

What’s fascinating about Crimes of the Future is not that organs can be implanted at any time, instead it is Cronenberg’s handling of blood and organs. He ditches shock value and jump scares in favor of showing human bodies for how they are. There was a desensitizing feeling about seeing so many guts on screen without a crescendo building in the background. 

The chemistry between Seydoux and Mortensen was fine but nothing groundbreaking. They were performance partners who helped each other out when possible, but it never got romantic, which is refreshing since it allows viewers to focus on the story. Other characters that are on screen include Timlin (Kristen Stewart) and Wippet (Don McKeller) from a government agency known as the National Organ Registry. Welket Bungué also gives a great performance as Detective Cope, an investigator that has several interactions with Saul throughout the film.

Timlin is by far the most interesting supporting character of the feature since she forms a connection with Saul and his body. A relationship that adds tension to an already strenuous situation.

Where the film shines the brightest is the construction of the horror sequences. As mentioned earlier, Cronenberg avoids modern horror tropes and instead focuses on the brutality the body has to offer and the dystopian environment in which the film is set in.