Something that I learned while doing set visits for BD is just how much I need to recognize and honor whomever is in the Production Designer role. The amount of work they put into ensuring we, the viewer, get a hopefully wonderful and immersive experience is unreal. From location scouting to ensuring the material used in building a set works with planned FX, their role is vital, no way around it.
When it comes to horror, one of the top names in the genre is David Cronenberg, whose films Scanners, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Crash, and more have filled us with fear, revulsion, arousal, and morbid fascination. He assaults the senses with each release, his ability to mix beauty with the gruesome an absolute marvel. But it couldn’t be done without the assistance of his long-time production designer Carol Spier.
Spier has worked on some of the best horror titles in recent memory, as well some that we simply adore, such as Silent Hill, Mimic, Blade II, Carrie, Pacific Rim, and more. Her work with Cronenberg reaches as far back as 1979’s sport drama Fast Company, for which she was the art director. Her work with Cronenberg has continued for over four decades, including the above mentioned films as well as Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, and, most relevant to this piece, 1999’s eXistenZ.
I bring this movie up because a fascinating documentary is available to watch below that goes into the making of the sci-fi/horror mindtrip that also focuses on the impact of Spier. For those who love the film, it’s a magnificent look into what it took to piece everything together. For those interested in how movies are made, this delves into the specific roles and functions that various people have and how they all interact with one another. Basically, this is something any aspiring filmmaker should watch.
eXistenZ follows marketing trainee Ted Pikul (Jude Law), who becomes an unintentional bodyguard for game designer Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) after an attempted assassination. Fearing that her gamepod, which works by being plugged into a port in the user’s spine, may have been damaged, she needs Pikul to join her in playing her game to ensure everything is working fine. So begins the mind-bending journey into a film that distorts reality and never makes it clear whether the characters are in the game or in real life.
I love this movie. From Howard Shore’s grandiose score to the disgusting yet hypnotizing visuals, the story and characters are wonderfully realized and this film deserves every bit of love that comes its way. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend giving it a shot.
