Shivers

R

Released Oct 10, 1975

1 hr. 28 min.

Horror

Sci-Fi

List

85%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

58%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After a scientist living in a posh apartment complex slaughters a teen girl and kills himself, investigators discover that the murderer had been carrying on experiments involving deadly parasites. Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton), a doctor living in the building, and his aide, Nurse Forsythe (Lynn Lowry), then realize that the parasites are on the loose, attacking fellow tenants. And those who become hosts turn into erotically obsessed maniacs who pass the bugs on through violent sex.

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Critics Consensus

Shivers uses elementally effective basic ingredients to brilliant effect - and lays the profoundly unsettling foundation for director David Cronenberg's career to follow.

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Timur B

Quite good thrash, acting is not great but sufficient for this type.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/11/23

Full Review

BigD J

Nowhere near the 85% so-called "critics" gave it. This film is extremely rapey and has several very strange, unnecessary child molestation scenes with no real rhyme or reason to it. In typical weird Indy fashion with of course the Italian film shock effect.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/26/23

Full Review

JJJJJJ J

Orgy Zombie film. Fairly good but not great. The plot keep me interested through but it never really grab me in a horror sense. I think it probably could have been better and more engaging with a few changes, but it wasn't terrible as is. Just more of a good B film than actually thoughtful movie. I'd recommend for any horror films, or even slasher/genre fans. If your not a hardcore though probably a skip.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/07/23

Full Review

Alejandro E

Like other directors in their "first feature," Cronenberg put on the table how he would define the horror genre in his own words. The result, in addition to being visceral, is quite satisfactory and, incidentally, is a destructive criticism of life in condominiums.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/22/23

Full Review

David W

With Shivers, David Cronenberg explores the difficult subject of parasite-induced sexual violence. This requires a delicate balance that he maintains reasonably well. This film, his third and at the time longest, demonstrates how Cronenberg is so effective at body horror. He grosses you out while freaking you out. Most imitators only succeed at the former. Fans of his next film, Rabid, will notice similarities in style, tone, and key film elements. Still, the difficult subject matter means that, while I enjoyed the film and found it interesting, I would only watch it again under certain circumstances.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

HIP-HOP ITALIA

Shivers utilizza un'ottima regia ed una trama semplice ma efficace per colpire lo spettatore

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/19/23

Full Review

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David Cronenberg

Director

Paul Hampton

Roger St Luc

Joe Silver

Rollo Linsky

Lynn Lowry

Nurse Forsythe

Allan Kolman

Nicholas Tudor

Susan Petrie

Janine Tudor

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

The film is so tackily written and directed, so darkly photographed and the sound so dimly recorded, that it's difficult to stay with it.

Rated: 1.5/5

May 9, 2005

Full Review

Almar Haflidason

BBC.com

Despite all the nastiness there is a compulsive nature to this film that makes it very hard to switch off even when in full gory swing.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 11, 2001

Full Review

Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

Shivers, written and directed by Cronenberg, is a paranoid, prurient sexual nightmare.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Shivers is an ingeniously engineered slash of thoroughly modern horror that, like George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, charts a social breakdown by tearing through our most intrinsic taboos.

Sep 8, 2023

Full Review

Tom Meek

Cambridge Day

Kitschy, creepy and pretty much the film...that announced Cronenberg as a cutting-edge horror force...

Rated: 3/4

Nov 13, 2020

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an absolutely interminable piece of work...

Rated: 1/4

Jan 22, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

After a scientist living in a posh apartment complex slaughters a teen girl and kills himself, investigators discover that the murderer had been carrying on experiments involving deadly parasites. Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton), a doctor living in the building, and his aide, Nurse Forsythe (Lynn Lowry), then realize that the parasites are on the loose, attacking fellow tenants. And those who become hosts turn into erotically obsessed maniacs who pass the bugs on through violent sex.

Director: David Cronenberg
Executive Producer: Alfred Pariser, Peter James
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg
Distributor: Vestron Video, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Image Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 1975, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 8, 2016
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

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