Videodrome (3½ Stars)

This is the first time I've seen "Videodrome". I can't write much about it, for the simple reason that I don't understand it. There are many unusual occurrences, such as a man slotting a videotape into his stomach, but there are also hallucinations. I wasn't able to tell whether something was really happening or not. If there was any doubt I assumed that things really happened, but I read two reviews afterwards, and it seems that some of my assumptions were wrong. Or maybe I was right and the other reviewers were wrong. I don't know.

I'll try my best to give a short synopsis. The film takes place in 1983, at the peak of the videotape boom. Max Renn is a senior executive of Cable 83, a small television station in Toronto. The programmes range from softcore pornography to hardcore violence. One of his engineers hacks into broadcasts with torture scenes that last for hours. All he knows is that it's being broadcast from a station called Videodrome in Pittsburgh. Max wants these programmes for his own channel. 

When Max travels to Pittsburgh, he finds out that Videodrome is more than just a rival station. At a homeless shelter the homeless persons are sat in cabins watching the torture scenes. Brainwashing? Videodrome's producer tells him that television is the new reality. Whatever people see with their eyes is real. But the broadcasts also send a hidden signal that causes a brain tumour in the viewers. At this point I lost track. My understanding of Videodrome's motives differs from what others have written.

It's a film that I might return to. I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll understand it better next time.

Success Rate:  - 2.8

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