CRIMES OF THE FUTURE (2022) (Second Sight Films Blu-ray Review)

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE (2022) 

Label: Second Sight Films

Region Code: B

Rating: Cert. 18

Duration: 107 Minutes 37 Seconds 

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)

Director: David Cronenberg 

Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman, Don McKeller, Welket Bungué

Perhaps fueled by his own son's foray into the family body-horror business with Possession and Infinity Pool, Canadian mind-melter David Cronenberg (The Brood) returns to the horrors of the body for the first time in nearly a quarter century, at the age of 79, and I for one am pleased with his return to the sort of films - he's still got it. Set on the not-too-distant future, humanity has undergone new transformations and are evolving, it seems that diseases and physical pain are no longer things of concern, we've evolved, as witnessed by a new growth of new organs, known as "Accelerated Evolution Syndrome", which is being monitored by a new governmental agency the National Organ Registry, who catalog new growth organs. 

Our entry point into this new world is performance artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen, Reflecting Skin), who has the strange ability to spontaneously grow new organs inside of his body, his performance art partner is Caprice (Léa Seydoux, The French Dispatch), a former surgeon, who tattoos his new organs while they're still inside his body, and then put on a show in front of a live audience, using an converted remote-controlled mechanized autopsy table called a Sark to remove the organs in front of a live audience. The events have the vibe of an underground art show, the audience videoing the experience, and getting off on the thrill of it. Sex, at least in it's old fashioned in-out-in-out style seems to have evolved as well, surgery is the new sex, the mutual cutting into one another with scalpels seems to have replaced intimacy, with Tenser telling an infatuated National Organ Registry agent Timlin (Kristen Stewart, Underwater) that he is not very good at the old sex anymore. Timlin and her co-worker Wippet (Don McKeller, The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw), belong to a government organization that seems to want to tamp down the spontaneous evolution, but they are quite fascinated by Tenser's "art", something New Vice cop Det. Cope (Welket Bungué) fails to understand, how does an unwanted organ or it's removal constitute art? 

It's an interesting premise with myriad implications, and an interesting wrinkle is a pro-evolution underground movement lead by Lang Dotrice (Scott Speedman, The Strangers) who wants Tenser to perform an autopsy on his dead son, murder by his own mother Djune (Lihi Kornowski), in an effort to use Tenser's notoriety to draw attention to the new evolution and what it means for the future humanity. 

The movie has that specific Cronenberg coldness it, the body horror elements are there but are a bit sanitized when compared to his past filmography, the dystopian near future-world had a decayed, lived-in quality to it, and there's a shadowy noir-ish vibe, complete with a proper undercover detective story, that permeates, and these elements come together quite nicely. Cronenberg's making a statement about art, artists, and a human evolution seemingly triggered by the threat of micro-plastics, it's multi-layered world he's created, and while it lacks the visceral impacts f his earlier body-horror classics it a compelling, enthralling and well-textured film that meditates on some fascinating ideas that lingered with me long after the credits rolled. Seeing the genre master return to his body-horror roots definitely brought a smile to my face, he has not delved into this type of genre filmmaking since Existenz (1999), and seeing him refine themes and elements from that film, Videodrome, Crash and even a bit of A History of Violence made me as giddy as seeing an old friend school chum after too many years apart - welcome back Mr. Cronenberg, it's wonderful to see you again, you look great! 

Audio/Video: Crimes of the Future (2022) arrives on region-B locked Blu-ray from Second Sight Films in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) sourced from a 4K Digital Intermediate. As this was shot on digital there's no grain or source related issues to contend with, the image is sharp, crisp and well-defined with excellent color reproduction and pleasing textures throughout. Most of the film is shot either at night or in dark interiors and the Blu-ray offers excellent shadow detail and deep blacks, scenes of Tenser meeting Det. Cope at shipyard in the dark of night look fantastic, the rusting hulks of the ships covered in barnacles look especially terrific. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround with optional English's subtitles, the track is well-defined and robust, dialogue is clean and precise, and the atmospheric electronic score from Howard Shore (Scanners) has nice depth and low-end. 

As usual Second Sight stack this release with newly produced extras; we get a New Audio Commentary by Caelum Vatnsdal that is jam-packed with information about the cast and crew, Cronenberg's body of work and how this fits into it,. There are also a set of interviews filmed during the Canned Films Festival, these include the 7-min Undeniably a Love Story: an interview with director David Cronenberg, 9-min Things Change: an interview with Viggo Mortensen, 7-min The Chaos Inside: an interview with Léa Seydoux, and the 7-min The Heat and the Grime: an interview with Kristen Stewart. These are brief but quite interesting conversations as they discuss their characters and working with the director. There are also longer interviews seemingly not filmed during Cannes, these include the 27-min The Bureau Man: a new interview with Don McKellar, the 10-min Painkiller: a new interview with producer Robert Lantos; 1-min The Most Wonderful Dream: a new interview with cinematographer Douglas Koch; 23-min The Code of David: a new interview with editor Christopher Donaldson. One of my favorite extras is the 23-min New Flesh, Future Crimes: The Body and David Cronenberg – a video essay by Leigh Singer that examines Cronenberg's oeuvre, and disc extras are sutured up with a 22-min The Making of Crimes of the Future, 8-min of Production Design Materials, and the 1-min Short film 'The Death of David Cronenberg'. 

Special Features: 
- New Audio Commentary by Caelum Vatnsdal
- Undeniably a Love Story: an interview with director David Cronenberg (7:27) 
-Things Change: an interview with Viggo Mortensen (9:14) 
- The Chaos Inside: an interview with Léa Seydoux (6:49) 
- The Heat and the Grime: an interview with Kristen Stewart (7:17) 
- The Bureau Man: a new interview with Don McKellar (26:59) 
- Painkiller: a new interview with producer Robert Lantos (10:19) 
- The Most Wonderful Dream: a new interview with cinematographer Douglas Koch (17:35)
- The Code of David: a new interview with editor Christopher Donaldson (22:58) 
- New Flesh, Future Crimes: The Body and David Cronenberg – a video essay by Leigh Singer (22:51) 
- The Making of Crimes of the Future (21:51) 
- Production Design Materials (7:56) 
- Short film: The Death of David Cronenberg (0:58) 

Screenshots from the Second Sight Films Blu-ray: 

Extras: