Crimes of the Future (1970)

Crimes of the Future details the wanderings of Tripod (Mlodzik), sometime director of a dermatological clinic called the House of Skin, who is searching for his mentor, the mad ... See full summary »

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg

Stars:

Ronald Mlodzik, Jon Lidolt, Tania Zolty

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronald Mlodzik	...	Adrian Tripod
Jon Lidolt
Tania Zolty
Paul Mulholland
Jack Messinger
Iain Ewing
William Haslam
Raymond Woodley	...	(as Ray Woodley)
Stefan Czernecki
Rafe Macpherson
Willem Poolman
Don Owen
Udo Kasemets
Bruce Martin
Brian Linehan

Storyline

Crimes of the Future details the wanderings of Tripod (Mlodzik), sometime director of a dermatological clinic called the House of Skin, who is searching for his mentor, the mad dermatologist Antoine Rouge. Rouge has disappeared following a catastrophic plague resulting from cosmetic products, which has killed the entire population of sexually mature women. Tripod joins a succession of organisations including Metaphysical Import-Export and the Oceanic Podiatry Group, and meets various individuals and groups of men who are trying to adjust themselves to a defeminized world. One man parodies childbirth by continually growing new organs which are removed from his body. Eventually Tripod comes upon a group of paedophiles which is holding a 5 year-old girl, and they urge him to mate with her. He senses the presence of Antoine Rouge.

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Plot Keywords:

1990s | year 1997 | plague | cross dressing | male to female cross dressing | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crimes of the Future

Filming Locations:

Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emergent Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in 1997.

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Connections

Referenced in Parasite Memories: The Making of 'Shivers' (2014)

User Reviews

Another early film from David Cronenberg.

Crimes of the Future (1970) was made a year after Stereo and with a larger budget, Cronenberg came out with an even more bizarre film based around sex and human nature. In this film he takes his cold, clinical and dark view of the world a step further. A world filled with emotionless people who are devoid of individual thought and repressed beyond imagination. A doctor uses this to his advantage whilst sexually experimenting amongst patients within a mental hospital.

This film is kind of hard to describe without giving away to much. But I found it to be comparable (somewhat) to THX 1138. In many ways you can compare the two. Cronenberg shot this faux documentary style accompanied by narration. The film reminded me of those videos that psychiatrists use when documenting extraordinary cases of psychosis and what not. Maybe that's what he trying to accomplish (if he was he succeeded). However some of the scenes in this movie are not for all viewers (those easily offended will be turned off by the subject matter).

All in all it's a more polished film than Stereo and his film-making had matured. Cronenberg also experiments more with sound and editing. The technique he uses gives the viewers the impression that they're under a state of semi-hypnosis (I don't know if they'll appreciate that or not). A interesting experimental film.

For fans only. Recommended.