Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg often defies genre classifications with his unique features, which combine tech-heavy science fiction, gory body horror, and psychological terror in unprecedented ways. Cronenberg made his directorial debut with 1969's Stereo. He has since gone on to direct 20 additional films, many of which have been met with controversy.

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With his films, Cronenberg makes it clear he could care less about abiding by mainstream expectations. Instead, he brings his audiences headfirst into explorations of taboo subjects – including disease, intergenerational trauma, and the fetishization of violence. From the more accessible A History of Violence to the visceral and surreal Dead Ringers, every Cronenberg film is noted for its visually stunning imagery and intensity.

Videodrome (1983) - 80%

James Woods in Videodrome looking at lips on the TV screen

Videodrome takes television culture into frightful territory with this unique blend of sci-fi and body horror. James Woods plays Max Renn, a sleazy TV station president known for airing shocking and lurid content.

Max stumbles upon a series called Videodrome, which showcases the torture and murder of unknown victims, and decides to air it. As Max digs deeper into the people responsible for the show, he finds himself in the middle of an insane plot to overthrow the licentious broadcast revolution he's part of.

The Brood (1979) - 82%

Still from The Brood

One of Cronenberg's beloved cult films, The Brood is another testament to the director's fixation on body horror. The film follows a troubled woman whose psychologist husband employs unconventional therapy techniques to cure her afflictions.

Coinciding with these bizarre counseling sessions are a series of attacks perpetrated by a group of mutant kids. Over the course of this singular film, these two plots come together, which leads to a shocking and bleak ending.

Dead Ringers (1988) - 83%

Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers

Jeremy Irons flexes his acting muscles in Dead Ringers, playing twin brothers Eliot and Beverly Mantle. Not only do they share the same profession as gynecologists; the Mantles share the same women, most of whom they meet on the job.

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When a new woman comes between the Mantle twins, they both plunge into drug addiction and paranoia. This Cronenberg film, known for its hallucinatory sequences, contains more psychological than physical thrills.

Shivers (1975) - 84%

Still from Shivers

Set in a Montreal luxury apartment complex, Shivers makes a monster out of sexually transmitted diseases. A tenacious parasite developed by a doctor goes rogue, moving from host to host by turning those it infects into love-making maniacs.

Bloody and gruesome, Shivers may appear to be an exploitation film on the surface. However, it contains the high production value, solid acting, and social commentary that separates Cronenberg from other directors in the genre.

Spider (2002) - 85%

Ralph Fiennes in Spider

An intimate portrait of mental illnessSpider stars Ralph Fiennes as a middle-aged man trying to work through his trauma by piecing together his memories of a key childhood event in his life. Fiennes's character, Dennis Cleg, takes up residence in a halfway house after being released from a mental institution.

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In his mind, Cleg returns to the 1950s London of his youth, where horrific moments from his past wait for him. Despite being released under the radar, Spider remains a critically acclaimed reflection of Cronenberg's character-building skills.

A History Of Violence (2005) - 87%

Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises

After Spider, Cronenberg adapted the 1997 graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke about a former professional hitman from Philadelphia whose past catches up with him. A History of Violence is a solid action-thriller with noir vibes, a film that pushed Cronenberg into the mainstream.

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Viggo Mortensen stars as the hitman, who ditched his guns for an anonymous life in a small Indiana town. After his character makes the news for taking out two spree killers, a mob boss played by Ed Harris tracks him down.

Fast Company (1979) - 88%

Still from Fast Company

Cronenberg takes a break from body horror to document one of his greatest passions: race cars. An outlier for the director, Fast Company was filmed at Edmonton International Speedway in Canada.

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The plot involves a drag race driver who clashes with his sponsor, the owner of an international oil company. While there's no doubt Cronenberg weaves together a compelling narrative, the best parts of Fast Company are its gritty, cutthroat car racing scenes.

Eastern Promises (2007) - 89%

Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises

Another collaboration with Viggo Mortensen, Cronenberg returns to the mob in Eastern Promises. This time, the subject is the Russian mafia – whose London members are challenged by a fearless midwife played by Naomi Watts.

After Watts's character watches a 14-year-old Russian sex worker die during childbirth, she promises to enact revenge against the men responsible for the girl's unnecessary death. The result is an evocative, thrilling crime drama full of dread and extreme violence.

The Dead Zone (1983) - 91%

Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone

Cronenberg tackles Stephen King in The Dead Zone, which stars Christopher Walken as a schoolteacher who arises out of a coma with psychic abilities. His character, Johnny, can see through time.

Johnny's special power is also a curse, as he knows the fate of everyone around him. True to King's style, Cronenberg merges sci-fi and horror with the every day here. Walken's engrossing performance has contributed to the film's lasting appeal.

The Fly (1986) - 92%

Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum in The Fly

Considered one of the best sci-fi films of all time, The Fly is a fantastic remake of the 1958 film of the same name. Cronenberg's obsession with body horror reaches its apex here, as Jeff Goldblum's character Seth Brundle goes from human scientist to mutated humanoid bug after a common housefly joins him for a journey in his new teleportation pods.

Geena Davis co-stars as journalist Ronnie Quaife, who falls for Brundle after documenting his invention. She watches on in horror as her lover transforms into a monster in The Fly.

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