Hello, and welcome to Week 2 of Fandom Horrorfest 2020! This week, I’ll be focusing on horror directors and the contributions they’ve made to our favorite genre. While I could’ve gone the direction of just talking about the more popular horror masters, I figured 1) you could get that kind of list literally anywhere on the internet, and 2) why not include some more diverse creators, because diversity, much like horror, is kickass! So please enjoy week 2, and I hope it encourages you to look into some movies and creators that you hadn’t thought about before!
David Cronenberg
There are tons of horror subtypes or subgenres that further define either the setting or what the intended catalyst for fear is–slasher, psychological, space, supernatural, zombie, possession, etc. And I’m usually a fan of just about any of it because the idea of fear and what we are afraid of has always fascinated me. One category of horror that’s usually an exception to this rule, however, is body horror: an approach to horror that focuses on depicting horrific things happening to one’s physical appearance. Body horror, a subgenre that can be traced back to the 60s but really found its establishment in the 80s, eventually went on to be developed into such gore and torture films like Eli Roth’s Hostel and the Saw franchise. I’m personally not a huge fan of body horror simply because it often relies too heavily on shock factor than actual narrative; however, one director who basically birthed the modern body horror style and established a tradition–albeit and often ignored one–of psychological themes within the subgenre is David Cronenberg.
Any Rick and Morty fans out there? The term “Cronenberged” comes from this director’s early work in body horror and his mastery of depicting visceral fear within the context of science fiction. Cronenberg’s films such as the 1986 remake of The Fly and the 1981 movie Scanners definitely utilize body horror to get their fear across, but much more significantly, the man is a master of asking rather existential questions about humanity and technology that can be traced down to such modern tales as Black Mirror. For example, Jeff Goldblum’s character in Cronenberg’s Fly remake often waxes philosophical about the lines between nature and man and humanity’s potential in light of scientific advancement. His own horrific journey, though highlighted by grotesque body transformations as it may be, is a tale of hubris–not so much overconfidence in science, but rather confidence in one’s own judgment that his use of science is infallible. A theme of horror asking questions is a common occurrence during Horrorfest, and out of all the horror masters, Cronenberg may ask some of the most relevant questions today.
Many of Cronenberg’s films are classics, but I always go back to The Fly remake. His take on science fiction horror amplified by the existentialism of Dr. Brundle’s sentience and the more dramatic narrative compared to the original film really elevate the themes that Cronenberg values in his movies, and the visuals are impressive even to body horror skeptics like me. You also get to see a hyper-libido’d Jeff Goldblum, and who doesn’t love that?!
