David Cronenberg is one of the most notable directors to come out of Canada. In his fifty years of filmmaking, the auteur has established himself as a very divisive figure amongst audiences around the world. Films in the latter part of his career such as A History of Violence and A Dangerous Method showed Cronenberg could play somewhat restrained, but he may be best known for being a pioneer in the body horror genre. In the early part of his career, films such as Videodrome and The Fly tackled visceral physical transformations as a means of externalizing psychological issues. These films propelled the horror genre to extreme places that continue to be mined for engrossing thrills to this day. While the director had made a couple of films that clocked in at just over an hour, one of his earliest feature-length films was the 1975 science fiction horror film Shivers. The film was made on a shoestring budget in just over two weeks, but the raw talent is readily apparent throughout this creepy film that will have you double checking your surroundings next time you are in the bathroom.
Shivers focuses on the unlucky residents at the Starliner Towers, which is located on an isolated island outside of Montreal. At the onset of the film, a promotional video touts all the amazing amenities available to residents including an Olympic-sized pool, an on-site convenience store and even a medical facility. This luxury apartment complex functions as its own little community in which residents live a seemingly utopian existence. Everything seems perfect, so why do the opening moments feature a crazed Dr. Emil Hobbes (Fred Doederlein) murdering a young woman in her apartment, opening her up and pouring acid in the wound, and subsequently ending his own life? The answer to this is the key to the horrors that await the residents of this building. Elsewhere in the building, a young married man named Nick (Alan Migicovsky), who was having an affair with the newly-deceased woman, is having horrible stomach pains. Upon the discovery of the two bodies, resident doctor Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton) will soon learn what made Dr. Hobbes lose his mind.
According to Hobbes’ old partner, Rollo Linsky (Joe Silver), the ambitious doctor was working on a parasite that could do some good for the body by taking over the function of a human organ. Turns out, the parasites developed were actually a gateway to unlocking humanity’s primal impulses that would turn the hosts into sexually aggressive beings who only wanted to fornicate and spread the parasite around to create a worldwide orgy. When the parasite gets unleashed via the infected Nick in the complex, things take a wild turn towards what is basically Night of the Living Dead, but with people wanting to bone down instead of eat brains. We follow Dr. St. Luc and his nurse (Lynn Lowry) as they try to reckon with what is going on and make it out unharmed. With how provocative and sensational the core concept of the film is, it is surprisingly not skeezily executed or problematic even through a modern lens. There are some typical male-gaze aspects of the film, but way less than you would expect from a low budget feature of the time. Instead, the film focuses on expertly conjuring up the dread that you feel when the world starts closing in around you.
The enjoyment you derive from this film will largely depend on how much leeway you give it due to its low-budget roots. The acting is not always the greatest, but the fact that some of these people walked off the street makes you feel less judgmental. Where this film really shines is the special effects work. The parasites themselves are a disgusting practical effects dream. Sure, they look somewhat like a mangled hotdog, but that is part of the charm. James Gunn would tackle similar subject matter years later in Slither, but Shivers has the DIY sensibility that you have to appreciate. Also, scenes of the parasite pulsating underneath the skin seem like they had to be an inspiration for the famous Alien chest-bursting scene. Cronenberg is a man who is obsessed with sexuality and psychology, and the way in which that manifests in Shivers is frightening, yet very compelling. The film runs at a brisk pace at under ninety-minutes with not many extraneous moments. This is a very small creature feature that makes no bones about its limitations, and Cronenberg was a strong enough filmmaker even at his earliest stages that it works really well. If you are a fan of Cronenberg and body horror in general, I cannot see you being disappointed with this one.
Video Quality
Shivers finally makes its Blu-Ray debut with a lovely 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While I have no specific details about the origins of the transfer, this film seems to lovingly retain the low budget, slightly washed out look from the older film stock. The transfer is naturally filmic with some enjoyable detail in the production design and texture of clothing. This is not the most colorful film, but what is shown is rendered well enough. The black levels are passable in their depth, but the whites can be fairly blown out at points. There are some occasional signs of age-related wear present in the transfer, but nothing truly intrusive. The depth and detail remains impressive throughout most of the runtime. Digital anomalies such as compression artifacts seem to be avoided for the most part. This is the best that the film has ever looked on home entertainment, and Lionsgate’s Vestron Video imprint should be given kudos for this presentation.
Audio Quality
Lionsgate Home Entertainment brings us this new Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that accurately reproduces the film sonically. The dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming though clearly without being stepped on by the score or sound effects. On the whole, the film does not offer up much of a dynamic sound design, but what it does offer sounds great here. Subtle slithering effects are delineated nicely from the competing environmental sounds. The movie is comprised primarily of stock music that sounds nice here. There does not appear to be any damage or distortion associated with the audio track. This is a track that represents the film in a very satisfying way. Optional English (SDH) and Spanish subtitles are provided on this disc.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director David Cronenberg: Chris Alexander moderates a very informative track with writer/director David Cronenberg in which he recalls with great accuracy the production of this early film in his career. Cronenberg discusses the unorthodox way in which he held a casting call, the sound design of the film, the sexuality in the story and so much more. This is a fascinating discussion with one of the best in the business.
- Audio Commentary with Producer Don Carmody: Chris Alexander once again moderates an engaging commentary with producer Don Carmody in which he discusses his career trajectory, location scouting, the debate of whether horror had a place in Canadian cinema, where certain cast and crew have ended up over the years, his hands on experience on the film and more.
- Mind Over Matter – An Interview with Writer/Director David Cronenberg: A 12-minute interview with Cronenberg in which he discusses how Cinepix used Shivers as a way to get away from softcore porn features, breaking ground in Canada with genre pictures, working exclusively in Canada, the impact of negative reviews on his filmmaking and more fun insights. I could listen to Cronenberg speak all day, as he is filled with interesting insights.
- Good Night Nurse – An Interview with Lynn Lowry: A 17-minute interview with Lynn Lowry (Nurse Forsythe) in which she discusses the groundbreaking nature of the film, how she was cast in the film, working with Cronenberg, giving a crazed performance, the nudity in the film and more. Lowry seems to have a great affection for her experience with the film and she is a great wealth of information.
- Outside and Within – An Interview with Special Makeup Effects Creator Joe Blasco: A 13-minute interview with Blasco in which he discusses why he agreed to work on the film, what film made him want to be a makeup artist, his experiences with Cronenberg, secrets behind some of the gnarly effects and more. This is a very entertaining interview with lots of fun asides, including a few offhand comments about big projects he regrets turning down.
- Celebrating Cinepix – The Legacy of John Dunning: A 10-minute featurette with Greg Dunning, son of producer John Dunning, in which he discusses his father’s work in film, his partnership with co-founder Andrew Link, the relationship to David Cronenberg, how their films featured women protagonists and more. This is a nice love letter to a groundbreaking company.
- Archival 1998 David Cronenberg Interview: A 21-minute archival interview with Cronenberg in which he discusses the importance of finding a company that understood his film, odd demands from his performers, his despair over seeing his initial daily rushes and more. This is an essential interview that I am very glad Vestron included in this package.
- Still Gallery with Optional Archival Audio Interview: A nine-minute audio interview with John Dunning, executive producer and co-founder of Cinepix, in which he talks about his early days in Canadian cinema, the challenges of creating adult content for theatrical exhibition, and the value in making films with popular recurring characters that resonated with a worldwide audience. This plays over a series of images from the film and promotional material that you can view separately without the audio interview.
- Theatrical Trailers: Two trailers totaling three minutes are provided here that do an excellent job of building anticipation while not showing every surprise from the film.
- TV Spot: A minute-long television spot that advertises the film as They Came From Within
- Radio Spots: Three fun radio spots totaling slightly over two minutes are provided here.
Final Thoughts
Shivers is a low-budget labor of love that will make your skin crawl with its gross-out body horror and disgusting creature effects. Director David Cronenberg tackles his typical themes of human sexuality and psychology in a way that is surprisingly restrained considering the subject matter. If you have an appreciation for the auteur or just a love for inventive filmmaking under limited conditions, this one should hold some appeal. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released Shivers as a part of their Vestron Video Collector’s Edition series with a lovely A/V presentation and a fantastic array of special features. This is a knockout disc for fans of the film. Highly Recommended
Shivers is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.