At the source of body horror, which has become a genre in its own right and is now celebrated by mainstream cinephilia (the Palme d'or awarded to Julia Ducournau's Titane in 2021 is the clearest illustration), is undoubtedly the Canadian director David Cronenberg's film Shivers. This film, which also pays tribute to the past glory of horror cinema (featuring Barbara Steele, an icon of Mario Bava's films in the '60s), was shot on Nuns' Island in 1975, exactly fifty years ago!
With Justine Smith, writer and film curator, and Éric Falardeau, filmmaker, author, and teacher
Residents of a suburban building are infected with a parasite that turns them into violent and insatiable sex maniacs. The epidemic can spread by the slightest contact. Filmed at the Tourelle-Sur-Rive residential complex, designed by architect Mies van der Rohe and located on Nuns' Island, Cronenberg transforms this opulent and supposedly peaceful place into a nightmarish tower from which everyone wants to escape.
David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg is a Canadian film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is one of the main originators of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and the intertwining of the psychological, physical, and technological. In the first third of his career, he explored these themes mostly through sci-fi horror films such as Scanners (1981) and Videodrome (1983), although his work has since expanded beyond these genres. Cronenberg's films have polarized critics and audiences alike; he has earned critical acclaim and has sparked controversy for his depictions of gore and violence. His films have won numerous awards, including the Special Jury Prize for Crash at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, a unique award that is distinct from the Jury Prize as it is not given annually, but only at the request of the official jury, who in this case gave the award "for its originality, daring, and audacity". From the 2000s to the 2020s, he collaborated on several films with Viggo Mortensen, including one of his most recent offering, Crimes of the Future (2022).
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