Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: 3/5/2024
Rating: R
Film Grade: C
The Story: Welcome to Starliner Towers, a luxury apartment complex situated on a small Canadian island. Inside its comfortable confines, you’ll live a life of convenience, with amenities galore – onsite market, deli, dentist’s and doctor’s office, all with 24/7 security, perfectly matching your modern lifestyle.
But not everything is as nice as it appears. Lurking inside that pristine paradise is an insidious threat; slowly growing. It’s up to Dr. Richard St. Luc to discover exactly what’s going on behind the apartment’s stylish facade.
My Take: David Cronenberg’s name will bring certain themes and images to mind, as if they’ve been seared into the viewer’s brain. Shivers was his first feature movie and it’s filled with all the ingredients you’d expect. Body horror, scientific/medical research unbound by any ethical concerns, paranoia, and personality shifts, all weirdly blended with a liberal dose of sex.
There are obvious indications of a first effort here. Some scripting is sloppy, pacing often feels off, and the acting from the side characters isn’t where it needs to be. That said, the film does sport some solid makeup effects for such a small budget, including bladder effects that were done at about the same time as The Exorcist and didn’t come into wide practice until years later.
It also serves as a cool time capsule of the 1970s. The décor and fashion are both distinctive and authentic (it’s mentioned in the extras that they used actual apartments from the building they filmed in), and will definitely take you back to that time if you happened to be around back then. The science involved would have seemed far out in those days, but oddly believable today. And the main theme behind it seems more relevant now than ever.
But how does it rate as a horror movie? Well, it gets a mixed review. Part of the reason is due to so much of what we see in it being used in other films. You’ll find bits and pieces reflected in later movies, as well as setups here that were inspired by those that preceded it. That’s not the fault of the movie but it does lessen the impact of the scenes, robbing the audience of experiencing them for the first time. Putting that aside, the terror aspect of the movie doesn’t come together as tightly as it should. Scenes that could use more time to develop are cut short but others go on for longer than they needed to.
Video: Considering its age and the low budget involved, the picture holds up remarkably well. There are a lot of bright scenes (unusual for a horror movie), only a couple of which are blown out, most likely from the original film source. And, like many other horror films from that period, the color of blood will vary from scene to scene, some looking like children’s tempera paint, while others have that deep, dark color we’ve become accustomed to seeing.
Nobody viewing this will mistake it for modern production, but that’s what makes these older films look like film. It’s a good representation for its time period, and I’m glad to see it hasn’t been scrubbed to a waxy texture.
Audio: This is a mono soundtrack, with sound sent to both the left and right speakers. Dialog is clear and natural. Sound effects are sparce but fit with the movie. The musical score is minimal, but fun; a combination of a traditional arrangement that switches to trippy electronic music during intense scenes. It’s a technique that was so popular in horror movies during that period but still remains effective to this day.
Special Features: - Audio Commentary with Writer-Director David Cronenberg
- Audio Commentary with Co-Producer Don Carmody
- “Mind Over Matter” — An Interview with Writer-Director David Cronenberg
- “Good Night Nurse” — An Interview with Actress Lynn Lowry
- “Outside and Within” — An Interview with Special Make-Up Effects Creator Joe Blasco
- “Celebrating Cinépix” — An Interview with Greg Dunning • Archival 1998 David Cronenberg Interview
- Still Gallery with Optional Archival Audio Interview with Executive Producer John Dunning
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Radio Spots
Final Verdict: If you are a Cronenberg fanatic, you’ll want to add this to your collection. All of the elements of his works are there, just in a slightly less polished form than what you might be used to. It’s a necessary entry point to see the evolution of his use of the medium throughout his career, and you’ll want to check out the extras for some insight from the director himself.
If you’re not a rabid fan of his work, it’s harder to recommend. As just horror, it’s solidly average. Some will find the movie off-putting. But just as with any other Cronenberg movie, there’s so much more underlying it than any typical horror entry. Themes and concepts abound, and there’s always something for the audience to contemplate long after the film is over. I would have preferred to see those elements pursued more deeply, but that would have been unlikely, considering this was the maiden feature film for a young director.
Lionsgate was generous in providing the SteelBook version of this movie, and what a beautiful package it is. The green really pops out and will be a standout in anyone’s collection.
Fun Fact: Titled They Came from Within for its original USA release, one of its earlier working titles was Orgy Of The Blood Parasites. One has to wonder how that would have affected ticket sales.
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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