Caelum Vatnsdal
"From STEREO to VIDEO" is a visual essay by Caelum Vatsndal focusing on Cronenberg's early life in a Jewish intellectual household, his initial aspirations to be scientist or writer, enrolling in University of Toronto – where he saw the film "Winter Kept Us Warm" made by a UT alumnus and featuring familiar locations and people he knew – where he then embarked on a series of short films. The essay then follows his early film career from SHIVERS through VIDEODROME noting how Cronenbergian elements are carried over from film-to-film. - Eric Cotenas and Gary Tooze
Sailors in repose on an island paradise seemingly have no worries of war or danger — until a playful gesture is interpreted as an act of wilful aggression. Soon, the innocent act of slight slapping becomes a relentless and unforgiving orgy of open-palmed face-smacking.
Nightmare in Canada is a television documentary that delves into the history of Canada's horror film industry. Not only do Canadian horror films have a distinct look and style, they also explore fear and dread in a truly "tundra terror" way through themes such as "man against nature" and "fighting the evil that comes from within." Nightmare in Canada uncovers gems from Canada's film history that combat the stereotype that Canadian cinema is bland or aloof.
In the near future ceilings have been replaced by omnipresent TV's. In the mass media Cannibalism is being hyped as the latest trend in people's day to day lives. Ma, Pa and Wilberforce are your typical North American family. They are obese, over consuming and have a big screen TV on their kitchen ceiling. Life doesn't change much for this family unit, Pa goes to his job at the meat shop, Ma works her dead end job and lately Wilberforce has been staying at home because he is sick. However, when Wilberforce suggests eating Pa for dinner ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE.
Pure fantasia, a race to save the world from a fatal heart attack, juxtaposed against a love rivalry between two brothers - a mortician and an actor playing Christ - for the heart of a scientist studying the earth's core.
A father and son rescue the sole survivor of a train crash.
The scene is a small paper-producing factory presided over by the shiftless Ari and his long-suffering wife Taryn. Employees include Sybill and Windy, pale young women who toil endlessly at the pulp vats, and the more mature Helen, who is past breeding age. As Ari sits astride his beloved chimney, a Care-Giving Woman appears and offers a rooster to Taryn. The crows of this beast cause ecstatic, erotic disquietude in anyone within ear-shot. The cottage becomes a tropical whirlwind of desire until Helen manages to drown the rooster in the bubbling pulp.
