IMDb plot summary: After developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife, and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa.
Directed by David Cronenberg. Starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, and Julian Sands.
I found the novel Naked Lunch insufferable, but the movie much less so. Some of it has to do with the fact that added visuals make it so much easier to pull a narrative together and even just follow what (might) be going on. The surrealism is strong here but it contributes to an atmosphere in a way it didn't on the written page. Of course, the atmosphere it contributes to is not a pleasant one. Director David Cronenberg excels at wielding body horror in a way that's not just disgusting but unsettling down to the core. Critic reviews of the film frequently reference its bleakness and pessimism, and I'd have to agree. It's a wildly depressing film, and not one I could fathom watching again or even really recommending to anyone, even if it's technically done well.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Naked Lunch < Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
Naked Lunch > The First Wives Club
Naked Lunch > The Howling
Naked Lunch < George of the Jungle
Naked Lunch > The Paperboy
Naked Lunch > Quigley Down Under
Naked Lunch < Harry and the Hendersons
Naked Lunch < The Conversation
Naked Lunch < The Front Page (1974)
Naked Lunch < The Blind Side
Naked Lunch > Wild Zero
Naked Lunch < The Avengers (2012)
Final spot: #1852 out of 3207, or 42%.
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