ShiversLife in an isolated apartment complex in Montreal, Quebec during the "swinging Seventies" might have fostered moments of decadent hedonism; but mixing in parasitic slugs that turn ordinary tenants into sex-crazed zombies takes it beyond mere experimentation. Written and directed by David Cronenberg--in his first feature film--Shivers tells the shocking tale of such an incursion into the high-rise community of Starliner Towers on Starliner Island, situated on the edge of the city. Following a grisly and ritualistic murder-suicide, the biological experiment gone awry eventually reduces the residents of the building into a collective heap of quivering and moaning flesh.
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Shivers is provocative by design, and ruffled feathers in Cronenberg's native land of Canada from its debut. (Consider that the original title was Orgy of the Blood Parasites.) Shivers lays the groundwork for the dominant leitmotif in Cronenberg's body of work--the relationship society has with its own bodies. The premise of normal people delving into perversity after having their inhibitions and self-control ripped away from them is thematically similar to cinema's earliest exploitation films, like Reefer Madness. The invasive force that transforms the people of Starliner Towers is biological--a disgusting parasite resembling a stomach-churning cross between a phallus and feces, that slithers and leaps onto its prey. This diminutive monster is the work of a pair of scientists--Rollo Linsky (Joe Silver) and Dr. Emil Hobbes (Fred Doederlein); the latter kills a young woman named Annabelle (Cathy Graham) in an event that catalyzes the downfall of the chic Starliner Towers. Linsky explains their intent in its creation to the resident doctor--the soft-spoken Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton, nicknamed "Dr. Mumbles" by fans because of his quiet delivery of dialogue)--suggesting that a parasite that simulates the functions of an organ could be used as a substitute for a failing one, like a kidney, at the cost of "a little blood now and then". Linsky is not depicted as a "mad scientist", but he and Hobbes have crossed a serious ethical line, and have failed to adequately safeguard their dangerous experiment--not to mention that Linsky's partner felt that the only means to contain such a threat was to murder Annabelle, the "patient zero" in this outbreak.
As Roger investigates, he learns that Annabelle had a reputation for promiscuity within Starliner Towers. One of Annabelle's lovers, Nicholas Tudor (Alan Migicovsky), is a withdrawn claims adjuster who has grown dissatisfied with his wife, Janine (Susan Petrie); he discovers Annabelle's body before Roger, but doesn't report it for fear of having his illicit affair with her exposed. Nicholas becomes an incubator for the parasites, wracking him with pain, and forcing him to return home from work and collapse into a heap on his bathroom floor. He subsequently regurgitates one of the slugs from the balcony of his apartment, and it squirms its way through mail slots and other orifices in the high-rise. Nicholas's adultery becomes a template for the spread of the virulent infestation--a behavior model that Nicholas, Annabelle, and others programmed into it through fornication. Whatever this parasite's original purpose might have been, this "reprogramming" overrides the residents' behavior with the compulsion for frenzied intercourse--the manifestation of the "sins" of its creators, Annabelle, and people like Nicholas. Linsky later confides that Hobbs had deliberately created the parasite to "turn the world into one mindless orgy", claiming that society had lost its instinct to procreate. The parasite becomes a metaphor for a sexually-transmitted disease (like AIDS) and explores how easily a scientific advancement can be twisted into something horrific--like nuclear or biological warfare. Although never explicitly stated in Shivers, it's possible that the parasite could have released into Starlight Towers as a part of a biological weapons experiment to measure its disruptive effect on a control group. Starlight Towers is somewhat isolated from the rest of the world; the building's pasty manager, Merrick (Ronald Mlodzik), describes their community as being self-sufficient, enough to have their own resident doctor (Roger). The idea of a high-rise as a microcosm--and the dramatic paradigm shift it experiences--is similar to High-Rise, adapted from the novel of the same name by J. G. Ballard, and also published in 1975. (Ballard also wrote "Crash", which Cronenberg would adapt in 1996.) The influence of Shivers on science-fiction horror movies can also be seen in films ranging from Alien--featuring a violent life-form that destroys an isolated group of people in a perverse mockery of sexual violation--to more overt homages, like Slither or Night of the Creeps.
Shivers approaches horror from a scientific and sociological point-of-view--a leitmotif of Cronenberg's films. It plays out like a zombie movie: the infection is spread by its victims to new recipients, who in turn are compelled to violently pass it along to the uninfected. The parasite doesn't turn the residents into the undead, but rather supercharges their libidos, pushing them into the act of procreation at the expense of other needs. This ever-expanding orgy rolls through the building like a twisted parody of sexual reproduction, while acknowledging fringe trends of sex as recreation from the Seventies, like swinging or "porno chic". Shivers also explores sexuality through supporting characters like Roger's attractive ally, Nurse Forsythe (Lynn Lowry), and Janine's friend and confidant, Betts (Barbara Steele). Betts comforts Janine after being rejected by her husband, but secretly harbors romantic feelings for her. She reveals her attraction to Janine after she is violated by a parasite that swims its way up the drain while she is bathing, removing her inhibitions. Forsythe is more overt in her sexual attraction to Roger, stripping out of her nurses uniform while he is on the phone, and subsequently donning a see-through top. Forsythe is obviously attracted to Roger--who does not acknowledge her exhibitionism out of politeness or shyness--and is willing to risk inviting an intimate relationship with a co-worker to satisfy her desires. Forsythe is more assertive than Roger, subverting preconceived notions that the male should be the one to initiate sexual congress. She shares a vivid dream she had with Roger, in which she advocates that "disease is the love of two alien kinds of creatures for each other, that even dying is an act of eroticism". Shivers explores the paradox of sex in modern society--that if sex was exclusively for procreation, and the parasite that compels its "victims" into unrestrained intercourse is a product of human society, then human society is predisposed toward sexual "deviation" in myriad ways.
Recommended for: Fans of a horror movie that balances the salacious with intellectual metaphors for sexuality and social diseases. Shivers is essential viewing for Cronenberg fans, and is emblematic of his work; like his early films, the audience that will glean the most from it should have an appreciation for philosophical and sociological contemplation and a stomach for graphic content.
As Roger investigates, he learns that Annabelle had a reputation for promiscuity within Starliner Towers. One of Annabelle's lovers, Nicholas Tudor (Alan Migicovsky), is a withdrawn claims adjuster who has grown dissatisfied with his wife, Janine (Susan Petrie); he discovers Annabelle's body before Roger, but doesn't report it for fear of having his illicit affair with her exposed. Nicholas becomes an incubator for the parasites, wracking him with pain, and forcing him to return home from work and collapse into a heap on his bathroom floor. He subsequently regurgitates one of the slugs from the balcony of his apartment, and it squirms its way through mail slots and other orifices in the high-rise. Nicholas's adultery becomes a template for the spread of the virulent infestation--a behavior model that Nicholas, Annabelle, and others programmed into it through fornication. Whatever this parasite's original purpose might have been, this "reprogramming" overrides the residents' behavior with the compulsion for frenzied intercourse--the manifestation of the "sins" of its creators, Annabelle, and people like Nicholas. Linsky later confides that Hobbs had deliberately created the parasite to "turn the world into one mindless orgy", claiming that society had lost its instinct to procreate. The parasite becomes a metaphor for a sexually-transmitted disease (like AIDS) and explores how easily a scientific advancement can be twisted into something horrific--like nuclear or biological warfare. Although never explicitly stated in Shivers, it's possible that the parasite could have released into Starlight Towers as a part of a biological weapons experiment to measure its disruptive effect on a control group. Starlight Towers is somewhat isolated from the rest of the world; the building's pasty manager, Merrick (Ronald Mlodzik), describes their community as being self-sufficient, enough to have their own resident doctor (Roger). The idea of a high-rise as a microcosm--and the dramatic paradigm shift it experiences--is similar to High-Rise, adapted from the novel of the same name by J. G. Ballard, and also published in 1975. (Ballard also wrote "Crash", which Cronenberg would adapt in 1996.) The influence of Shivers on science-fiction horror movies can also be seen in films ranging from Alien--featuring a violent life-form that destroys an isolated group of people in a perverse mockery of sexual violation--to more overt homages, like Slither or Night of the Creeps.
Shivers approaches horror from a scientific and sociological point-of-view--a leitmotif of Cronenberg's films. It plays out like a zombie movie: the infection is spread by its victims to new recipients, who in turn are compelled to violently pass it along to the uninfected. The parasite doesn't turn the residents into the undead, but rather supercharges their libidos, pushing them into the act of procreation at the expense of other needs. This ever-expanding orgy rolls through the building like a twisted parody of sexual reproduction, while acknowledging fringe trends of sex as recreation from the Seventies, like swinging or "porno chic". Shivers also explores sexuality through supporting characters like Roger's attractive ally, Nurse Forsythe (Lynn Lowry), and Janine's friend and confidant, Betts (Barbara Steele). Betts comforts Janine after being rejected by her husband, but secretly harbors romantic feelings for her. She reveals her attraction to Janine after she is violated by a parasite that swims its way up the drain while she is bathing, removing her inhibitions. Forsythe is more overt in her sexual attraction to Roger, stripping out of her nurses uniform while he is on the phone, and subsequently donning a see-through top. Forsythe is obviously attracted to Roger--who does not acknowledge her exhibitionism out of politeness or shyness--and is willing to risk inviting an intimate relationship with a co-worker to satisfy her desires. Forsythe is more assertive than Roger, subverting preconceived notions that the male should be the one to initiate sexual congress. She shares a vivid dream she had with Roger, in which she advocates that "disease is the love of two alien kinds of creatures for each other, that even dying is an act of eroticism". Shivers explores the paradox of sex in modern society--that if sex was exclusively for procreation, and the parasite that compels its "victims" into unrestrained intercourse is a product of human society, then human society is predisposed toward sexual "deviation" in myriad ways.
Recommended for: Fans of a horror movie that balances the salacious with intellectual metaphors for sexuality and social diseases. Shivers is essential viewing for Cronenberg fans, and is emblematic of his work; like his early films, the audience that will glean the most from it should have an appreciation for philosophical and sociological contemplation and a stomach for graphic content.