Crash (1997)

REVIEW
Banned in London and cheered and hissed at the Cannes Film Festival, Cronenberg's controversial adaptation of J.G. Ballard's novel rumbles on the fumes of its outlaw reputation. Like Naked Lunch and Videodrome, this eerie effort finds a netherworld where technology, obsession and sex meet; then it sets them against each other in the horrific battlefield of the mind. Spader plays a Toronto film producer whose unquenchable sexual desires take a new turn after he's involved in a car accident that kills the husband of passenger Hunter. Despite the tragedy and subsequent injuries, Hunter and Spader begin a carnal relationship that eventually leads to an unusual medical researcher (Koteas), who gets his kicks staging the car accidents of the deceased and famous (James Dean, Jayne Mansfield). Spader eventually brings wife Unger into the fray. Story line and character development take a backseat to mood and the psychological surveying going on here. Heated yet chilly at the same time, the fairly heated sex scenes turn unsettling when played against the frenzy of the adrenaline-charged car crash sequences. Cronenberg goes boldly where few directors have ever gone before. If you follow him, make sure your seatbelts are on tight.