Existenz

Possibly weirder than anything Cronenberg has done before (and we're talking about the man responsible for Crash and Naked Lunch here), Existenz is the most genuinely warped film I've seen in several years, and like most of the man's work, it leaves you quite unsure what to make of it.

Pretentious and perverse as his films doubtless are, it could never be said that they lack a sense of humour, and Existenz is his most overtly funny film to date, although the humour is more than counterbalanced by moments of grotesque horror.

Any plot synopsis is in danger of making Existenz sound like impenetrable art-wank, but here goes: virtual-reality games designer Allegra Geller (Leigh, thoroughly at home) is testing her new creation, an organic VR game called eXistenZ which taps deep into the psyche of those who attempt to play it. She stages a volunteer-only trial run in which the players become subject to a series of profound hallucinations which fling them back and forth between reality and fantasy.

It's a lot more fun than it sounds, though. There is a madcap almost B-movie feel to the film which is refreshing in the extreme, given that Cronenberg's films are generally famed for their icy, aloof, detached air of deep seriousness.

As well as the usual biology/technology ruminations, there is an abattoir where frogs and lizards are hacked up before finding their way to a distinctly dodgy-looking Chinese restaurant. On occasion, the proceedings become downright sick.

But Existenz is still a blitz-feast for the senses, and certainly offers up more pure sensation than ninety per cent of art-house releases. David Cronenberg films never really have anything to say, which is why he will always remain an acquired taste, but in terms of imagination and visual inventiveness, the guy has few if any peers.

If Existenz ultimately leaves you with a feeling of indifference, it is still evidence of a certain sort of genius at work, doing things with a camera that nature just didn't intend.

It's worth the trip. Just don't eat beforehand.