36 Days of Halloween - 1983: Videodrome

In Cronenberg's strange body horror film, Max, a small-time tv producer specializing in extreme tv, finds a pirate channel airing non-stop streams of torture and violence. As he looks into the origins of the feed, with the intent of acquiring the program for his channel, he discovers the sinister purpose behind the shows.

This is... really, really weird stuff. Cronenberg is exploring the intersection and exploitation of sex and violence in television here. Of course, he's doing so through a film that revels in graphic violence and sadomasochistic sexuality, so how effective his exploration of the topics seems to be will largely depend on how exploitative one finds the content. As a horror movie, this is fairly effective, as long as the general weirdness doesn't distract the viewer. There's a strong sense of dread throughout, and the disturbing scenes of Max undergoing the changes after his exposure to the Videodrome are some of the most unforgettable scenes in horror cinema; the tv swallowing Max's head is iconic, recognized even by people who've never seen the film. ​

Horrifying and weird.