COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - SHIVERS (VESTRON BLU RAY / STEELBOOK)
George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is one of the few seminal works in the horror genre. It is the template from which an entire genre was spawned, much like how Nosferatu and Dracula ushered in the vampire genre, NOTLD gave us a canvas upon which so many filmmakers would use to illustrate their nightmarish image hypothesizing what humanity would do if our dead came back to hurt us. Often it seems, that these seminal works are held in such high regard that they defy comparison out of respect, but on a long enough timeline, others will add their innovations to build something new for others to aspire towards. Even filmmakers who carve out their own unique genre niches have works that draw their inspirations from things that have come before them. Such is the case with David Cronenberg’s first feature film, Shivers. A seminal work in its own right that draws parallels to Romero’s film in many ways has now gotten a sexy new Steelbook release that is exclusive to Walmart. With new artwork featuring the insanely talented Vance Kelly, does “Shivers” deserve a scary slot on your spooky shelves?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless, sex-crazed fiends out to infect others by the slightest sexual contact.
HOW IS IT?
“Shivers” is a film that grows on you much like how the sexually transmitted disease at the center of the story does to the horned-up victims of Montreal’s most exclusive upscale apartments. For most, “Shivers” won’t be their first Cronenberg film which makes viewing it with more objectionable eyes a challenge, but that’s what makes the film so evergreen on subsequent rewatches. It is Cronenberg doing Romero in Canada while commenting ever so slightly on the nature of sexual politics and liberation. In viewing it with the hindsight of a career in mind, it is also easy to see how well Cronenberg has developed his craft over the years despite displaying a very natural talent for storytelling of the most macabre nature.
The opening monologue of “Shivers” tells you everything you need to know about the Starliner Apartments and the kind of person you may find living there. A mixture of well-to-do young professionals, elderly residents, and some sexed-up teens litter the hallways of the many-floored building and Cronenberg wastes no time throwing you into the deep end. The core problem at the heart of “Shivers” is about a doctor gone mad trying to explore ways to exploit the emotion of love. In doing so, he creates a parasite that has oddly sexual and deadly effects on victims as it drives up their libido while turning them into mumbling and grumbling ghouls. The body horror that Cronenberg has become so known for has clear origins in the story here, and while it doesn’t have the same level of subtlety or subtext it does give viewers a glimpse of the filmmaker he would become. It also feels like a rough draft of the great works he would make later on, and considering this is his first feature film it isn’t hard to give the man a pass on some of the more amateur mistakes and budget constraints.
It is worth defending Cronenberg on the budget front as this film looks bigger and better than the budget would’ve normally allowed. Working within the confines of smaller budgets and not having access to massive studio wallets is something that Cronenberg has built a career out of. Still, the misgivings here have more to do with the pacing of the story than they do with the quality of the filmmaking. Cronenberg tells a tight-knit story that only overstays its welcome for about 10-15 minutes, and considering some of the strange prerequisites independent films had around runtime it may have just been a matter of having to pad the script to appease producers. It also isn’t nearly as graphic as later films would be, but again, what is here is quite shocking considering the context. Instead of goopy gore and bodily functions, we get a more literal assault on the senses with a lot of sexual assault. Hell, in the film's opening 10 minutes we see a prolonged struggle between our mad scientist and an infected schoolgirl he is trying to subdue and dissect. Just because it is an early work doesn’t negate the fact the material is still shocking to see, even if it doesn’t compare to some more shocking things to come later on. All of this said, “Shivers” is a film that feels as timeless as the one that inspired it. For Cronenberg fans who haven’t seen this, make it a point to do so. For those who have and didn’t care for it, give it another chance and see if your opinion still holds firm.
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
This steelbook release is the same disc that Vestron released back in 2020, so for those who have purchased it be forewarned that the only difference is the packaging. That said, the transfer that Vestron gave then was quite good and far better than what other versions had come before it. Presented in 1080p preserving its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio, the transfer looks quite good considering the age of the print and the overall quality of the film. There are some noticeable aging artifacts, but nothing too distracting and likely nothing that could’ve been prevented. Images from this disc are used throughout the review and are seen below.
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
Again, there are no new sound options here as the DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo track is the singular option. It’s a decent enough track and likely wouldn’t have benefited much from an auditory upgrade. It doesn’t have the robustness of other stereo tracks so don’t expect a lot of range, but the dialogue and music come through clearly, especially during scenes with heavy action.
ANYTHING SPECIAL?
The special features included in this release are the same ones from the previous release, and while there are no new additions what is included is already pretty great. One of the features we took in for this review was the 12-minute Mind Over Matter: An Interview With David Cronenberg which covers a lot of ground on the filmmaker's start and how “Shivers” came to be. Of note was the short history lesson of Cinepix (more on that shortly) and how they almost didn’t want Cronenberg to helm the director’s chair. Even more interesting was that “Shivers” was the first film that ever returned a profit to the Canadian Film Trust (what would later become Telefilm). One quote will stand out above them all as Cronenberg opines, “Horror films are eternal”. We couldn’t agree more.
The other feature we checked out was inspired by the short history that Cronenberg gave of Cinepix. Celebrating Cinepix: Remembering John Dudding is a 10-minute featurette that covers the life and times of one of Cinepix’s founders, John Dudding. Cronenberg opens the feature by stating, “John Dudding was the only producer that understood me”, and what praise to kick this thing off with! From there, we get a peek into the life of the man who has a concrete footprint on the Canadian film industry by paving the way for more diversified and controversial films to fill marquees and screens. Andre Link, Dudding’s friend and co-founder of Cinepix spoke highly of his time with John and how his motivation was more focused on creating rather than profiting. John was even working on a My Bloody Valentine sequel up until his passing, and it’s a shame to think we will never see what could’ve been.
Last, but certainly not least is the new artwork that graces the outside of the exclusive steelbook. One of the most unique and outstanding artists in the independent art world is Vance Kelly, and his unique blend of pop-horror art and stunning likeness work gives this release a far better presentation than the theatrical cover art (which is included on the insides of the steelbook for the purists). The rest of the special features included with this release are listed below.
Special Features
Audio Commentary featuring David Cronenberg moderated by Chris Alexander
Audio Commentary featuring Co-Producer Don Carmody moderated by Chris Alexander
Mind Over Matter: An Interview with David Cronenberg
Good Night Nurse: An Interview with Lynn Lowry
Outside and Within: An Interview with Joe Blasco
Celebrating Cinepix: The Legacy of John Dunning
Archival David Cronenberg Interview from 1998
Still Gallery with Optional Archival Commentary from John Dunning
TV Spots
Theatrical Trailers
Still Gallery
Radio Spots
LAST RITES
“Shivers” is a seminal film in its own right in that it launched the career of a filmmaker who would cultivate a brand so strong and an aesthetic so unique he has an entire gene of film named after him. This release may not bring anything new to the fray, but it is a far better presentation of an already essential release.
THE GORY DETAILS
Thank you to the fine fiends over at TEAM CLICK for providing a review copy for the crypt! SHIVERS is available NOW exclusively at Walmart!
Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following Macabre Daily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
