Videodrome

R

Released Jan 28, 1983

1 hr. 30 min.

Horror

List

83%

58 Reviews

Tomatometer

80%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn (James Woods) is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend (Deborah Harry) auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.

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Critics Consensus

Visually audacious, disorienting, and just plain weird, Videodrome's musings on technology, entertainment, and politics still feel fresh today.

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Brent

A Cronenberg Masterpiece

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/23/22

Full Review

Daniel W

One of the worst films I've seen the effects are hideous and I love 80s practical effects but this film was terrible I'm not sure why it has such a high rating I forced myself to watch it till the end and it still didn't get better.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/14/24

Full Review

Jules N

Tout simplement magnifique !!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/07/24

Full Review

Maya P

More of this please...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/10/24

Full Review

Destry Shane S

I usually don't mind watching older movies with a futuristic perspective, but this movie just seemed so dated. I found myself constantly critiquing the stupidity of the plotlines and attempts to entertain.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Alec C

Prepare to enter a world where the screen and flesh become one and the same! Max Renn is a television producer who discovers a new station called Videodrome, that alters his mind and his own body at a disturbing rate. Disturbing but fascinatingly so, we are drawn to the screen as our main character is as we are just as caught up in the madness as our main protagonist!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/23/24

Full Review

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David Cronenberg

Director

James Woods

Max Renn

Deborah Harry

Nicki Brand

Sonja Smits

Bianca O'Blivion

Peter Dvorsky

Harlan

Leslie Carlson

Barry Convex

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Gary Arnold

Washington Post

Simultaneously stupefying and boring, Videodrome is too extreme a blunder to survive exposure to a justifiably disillusioned horror-movie public.

Aug 4, 2015

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Film is dotted with video jargon and ideology which proves more fascinating than distancing. And Cronenberg amplifies the freaky situation with a series of stunning visual effects.

Jun 6, 2007

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Never coherent and frequently pretentious, the film remains an audacious attempt to place obsessive personal images before a popular audience -- a kind of Kenneth Anger version of Star Wars.

Jun 6, 2007

Full Review

Scott Nye

Battleship Pretension

While Videodrome is in some ways a very heady, theme-driven film, it’s also just a thrilling experience.

Oct 20, 2023

Full Review

Howard Waldstein

CBR

Always on the hunt for something newer and edgier, Max comes across a Malaysian broadcast of live executions, which Max immediately wants to begin airing on his network.

Jul 18, 2023

Full Review

Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

A sleazy slice of early Cronenberg.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 7, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn (James Woods) is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend (Deborah Harry) auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.

Director: David Cronenberg
Executive Producer: Pierre David, Victor Solnicki
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg
Distributor: Criterion Collection, Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 28, 1983, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Sound Mix: Mono, Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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