20 Socially Conscious Horror Movies
By Jenn Reid
Videodrome (1983)
The Issue: Media obsession with sex and violence
The Movie:
Max Renn (James Woods) is the president of a TV station in Toronto that specializes in sensationalist content like violence and porn. He’s looking for something even more shocking when he discovers an unauthorized satellite that broadcasts a show called Videodrome, which depicts torture and murder. Max believes the show to be staged, but begins to air it illegally on his station.
He goes on a talk show to defend his station to a psychiatrist Nicki (Blondie’s Debbie Harry, in case you forgot this was the ’80s) and a professor who believes TV will take over from real life. Max and Nicki begin to date and she is aroused when they watch Videodrome together. When he tells Nicki that Videodrome is broadcast from Pittsburgh, she leaves to audition for the show. He contacts a pornographer and asks her to help him learn more about Videodrome. She tells him that Videodrome isn’t staged.
Max begins to experience disturbing hallucinations — like, your stomach turning into a gaping hole that eats video tapes disturbing. These are side effects from watching Videodrome, and now Max has a brain tumour. He is contacted by Videodrome’s producer who tells him they wanted him to air Videodrome so they could give brain tumours to the ‘low-lifes’ that enjoyed watching sex and violence. They insert a brainwashing tape into Max’s VCR/stomach and he murders his co-workers at the TV station. Max believes he has to kill himself to end Videodrome, and does.
What It’s Saying:
There’s always something to unpack in David Cronenberg’s work (body horror usually has a political subtext). Videodrome, like They Live, speaks to the 1980s fears of mass media. Videodrome in particular is interested in the increase in sex and violence in media, and the even more worrisome intertwining of the two.