Existenz is a 1999 science fiction horror film written, produced, and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm, Don McKellar, Callum Keith Rennie, Sarah Polley, Robert A. Silverman, Christopher Eccleston and Willem Dafoe. The film follows a game designer who finds herself targeted by assassins whilst playing her virtual reality game. Existenz is a film about the blending of the virtual world and reality and the dangers of being lost in a virtual world.
Existenz is shown to be a new video game system with people testing the product, this is to create the gaming world better than the real world as fantasy and escapism is shown to be better than reality. This love of escapism is shown with people wanting to port into slave units and calling Geller a gaming goddess showing how much people worship escapism, as these fleshy bio mechanical gaming systems are seemly alive. The group downloads the game showing how everyone is connected with the gaming pods showcasing the desire for escapism and the dangers of being lost in a virtual world and the interconnection of reality. A guy then fires a gun made out of bones saying “death to the demoness Allegra Geller” which effects everyone as Pikul gets Geller out of there. This showcases that everyone in the future will be both connected and effected in the virtual world showcasing the dangers of being absorbed by escapism and fantasy. Allegra has a biomechanical phone as Pikul removes a tooth from her as they find out the biopistol is made from bones showcasing the biomechanical body horror future of the film.
The bioport in the film is seemingly alive and breathing like a baby attached to her via an umbilical cord showcasing how people wish to connect and live with technology in ether lives bonding with it like an organism. She wanders through Existenz like a tourist, Pikul doesn’t have a bio port as he has a fear of having his body penetrated showcasing the sexual nature to the film and the fear of sexual Inter and physically and phytologically linking and bonding from one person to another. Pikul and Allegra need to get into the game to make sure everyone is fine and works. They go to a gas station to get an illegal bioport fitted. Geller is greeted like a Goddess by Gas as he plays a game where he is a god. This showcases that through escapism normal people can become gods living out their fantasies within the game. There is a weird two headed creature found in the gestation linking to the idea that they might possibly still be inside the game. Pikul within reality and not in the game is symbolically in a cage of his own making that he must break out form as gas shoots him up. Pikul is paralysed as Geller ports into him. This links into the emergence of technology into sexuality as his import is tight as she inserts into him, the bioport then blows due to a neurosurge which is the only version of Existenz. Gas ends up installing Pikul with a faulty bioport to kill them both to collect the money, as Pikul kills Gas with his own port gun showcasing how biomechanics control the world and destroy people. They go to Kiribati her old mentor. They do surgery on the bioport to save its life like an animal showcasing how the c future is a technorganic world as the come form amphibian eggs stuffed with synthetic DNA as the humans are the power source. As she sticks her finger in his bioport showcasing the techosexual future of the film.
As Geller sticks the bioport in Pikul as he is nervous linking to the sexual nature as it’s like losing his virginity, they go inside the virtual game world to find out what the damage is. Within the game world they have made their own games and bioports this links to an idea of infinite universe and simulation with it being the same al l the way down and the dangers of being lost in a digital world. The people there are NPC’s as Pikul talks in a direct rude way to guy as that his NPC dialogue. The people within the game are just NPC’s waiting for the next action, as Pikul and Geller have different bioports installed in the game, showcasing how artificial reality can be infinite. The small ports plug directly into the bioport that swallows it, showcasing the future of biotechnology. He kisses her bioport hole as they game characters take over and they kiss each other. This demonstrates the lack of free will and you are not you, you are your game character. Pikul freaks out about his hid body being venerable and disembodied. This demonstrates the out of body experience that comes with emergence technology and yourself in not your physical form, but you exist in cyberspaces. They end up working and factory workers making biopods by dissecting animals and removing organs showcasing the biotechnological future. Pikul is given directions by the NPC giving him directions to go to the Chinese restaurant and order the special, this showcases the lack of free will that even the players are like NPC’s.
Sarah adapts to her NPC role doing her job by removing the game organs from the animals. This showcases the idea of an infinite layer universe as they are infinite layers all the way down that get more primitive showcasing a devolution, as Sarah repeats her actions and dialogue like an NPC showing how people lose their minds within the virtual world. They all go to the Chinese restaurant like NPC’s where the waiter is an NPC showcasing the blurring of the virtual world. Pikul wants to pause the game as he feels disconnected form reality, there is an element of psychosis to the games as Sarah is excited about this and him being interconnected with the game. This demonstrates the dangers of blurring the lines between reality and fiction and being lost in a fantasy. He pauses Existenz as they wake up and he freaks out as he is scared about the merge between the real and digital world, as Sarah is still connected to the game pod in the game world. She asks what is real life as Pikul says this doesn’t feel real as she says its better in the video game world as the film has a sexual nature to it. This demonstrates the merge between real life and fantasy and that there is no difference. It showcases how fantasy can be better than reality and that escapism is more preferable to modern society, the film also has a sexual nature to it showing the interrogation of humanity. They only ned up getting out of one layer, but they are still in the second layer as Sarah becomes more of game characters it highlights the fears of losing your identity in an artificial reality. Within the game world they get the special which is disgusting with a two headed creature on it.
On impulse as his game character Pikul starts to eat the disgusting food as he does the thing the character in his game was meant to do, he doesn’t fight it as he constructs the gun. This showcases that he has no free will within the virtual world you must act on your own impulses to take matters into your own hands showcasing the fears and illusion of free will with artificial reality. He makes the same gun the guy at the beginning had as the film asks the question has this all just been a game the entire time, he has a bridge in his mouth in the game but into real life as he inserts it into his gun like bullets in a magazine. Pikul instinctively points the gun at Geller and says death to the demoness Allegra Geller showcasing how artificial reality takes over and controls people and the dangers of that. This is further shown as Pikul’s impulse control takes over he has no free will he can’t stop himself as he shoots the Chinese waiter on impulse killing him. They get led out by Nourish who shows them the breeding pools making systems for game ports and bioweapons, this showcases the layers of virtual reality and escapism within society. There are two sides the enemies of reality and the realists fighting over if it’s better to live in reality or fantasy. They must get the NPC dialogue right as Pikul is getting better that the game then Geller showcasing how he is embracing his artificial reality. It turns out that the Chinese was thee contact and Nator was a mole for systematics as they in a sense have failed the level/mission of the game. At the factory Pikel ultimately loses his grip with reality dealing with the real-world repercussions of the game. The film showcases the dangers of the blending of fantasy and reality and how technology creates this blur and makes people lose their minds.
They find a game pod that is infected and diseased however Geller has an urge to port into it, this links to people’s sexual desires within the merge of man and machine as this infection in linked to sexual diseases. Their plan is to infect all the other bioports and sabotage the factory. Geller becomes infected and ill witch symbolically links to STD’s or complications during birth and how technology will become a part of the human body as Pikul cuts the umbilical cord in emergency as she blees to death. Nourish then appears burning the diseased game port which bursts into deadly spores which further links into the idea of this being like an infectious disease or a STD. The biopod worker shouts death to realism, as deadly spores infect everywhere as he shouts death to the demoness as he dies, and everything burns. This demonstrates that technology is like a disease infecting everyone and corrupting them killing them. Geller and Pikul then awaken in the ski lodge with Geller having withdrawn symptoms as they brought the pod back with them diseased as fantasy blends into reality effecting it. These computer viruses is linked to a STD infection showcasing how technology bleeds into biology and the real and artificial worlds blur as there is no distinction between the real world and the digital world. Geller freaks out about her body dying an tries to revive it as Pikul has a infected bioport linking to std infections and the merge between man and machine. Geller seals up Pikul’s bioport as her body is dying like her child is dying showing how technology is a human part of people’s lives.
Carlaw then reappears with his resistance fighters saying death to Existenz as the soldier shoots her game port dead as Geller freaks out as if someone shot her bay to death as Pikel thinks there still inside the game. This demonstrates that people just reject the dangers of technology escapism and accept reality as well as shown in the future as the film shows that technology is an important party of people’s lives, they are like their children they can’t leave without them. The victory of realism people says death to Existenz as they see they are part of the dangers of escapism. Carlaw is then killed by Vinokur who kills him with the bone gun his dog brought him. They believe they are still inside the game, even though they are out of the two original levels the film shows them go into. This demonstrates the dangers of technology destroying reality and how technology will blur reality as people won’t be able to tell the difference. Geller game is dead as Carlaw killed it, but he says he killed her pod and copied her game and says she must come over to the rival company as he’s a spy and she shoots him. This shows the artificial reality is more important than actual reality and people would rather live in a fantasy. Geller kills him as his game character, but Pikel asks what if there not in the game anymore as the liens blur and technology becomes their reality. She realises that it was no accident why he never had a bioport as he was a realist sent to kill her. This demonstrates the merge between reality and fantasy due to technology and the dangers of losing yourself in fiction. Geller reveals that she worked it out when he pointed the gun at her in the Chinese restaurant and detonates his bioport killing him. Then seemingly in reality they wake up in the church in different identities with all the rest of the characters in the film taking about the characters in the game. The film is a meta-analysis of acting and characters with fiction. It is revealed that they have all been a part of the game TransCendenZ as their identities at the start of the film weren’t real. Allegra is grateful as the game allowed her to live out her dream job as a video game designer. She thanks the creator who says she will be one soon and she has a prior relationship with Pikel showing how everyone wants to create their own escapism. Nourish tells Melre that’s he feels uneasy playing the game with the anti-game theme of the film beginning with the assignation of the game designer as the film is a meta commentary on video games themselves. The film ends with Pikul and Geller talking to Nourish accusing him of destroying reality and making people go crazy. They kill him saying death to them and transcendence. As they start to leave, they bump into the Chinese waiter who at first pleads her his life before asking them are they still in game as they look on with unknown faces. This shows the dangers of technology and is this blending of fiction and reality they have lost a grip on the real world a possibly become trapped in this fake technological world.
Existenz is a film about the blending of the real and digital worlds and the dangers of being lost in a fake realty. It demonstrates that though technology humanity will lose its grip on the real world being trapped in a fake technology controlled world forever.