The Movie: I first heard about this movie a few years ago from a stage manager I was working with. It was released around the same time as The Matrix, but (at least around here) only made it around the indie film house circuit. The reason why I mention The Matrix is that it follows some of the same premise of a blurring of the lines between reality and computer generated realities, however, eXistenZ takes it into a much different direction.

First of all, eXistenZ is a game that people play, not a computerized prison as in the Matrix. A corporate espionage battle erupts over this game, and soon, spreads into the world of this game. This film is full of twists and turns that will leave you wondering exactly what's going on... and even if you think you've got it figured out, you just might be surprised one last time.

The visual style of the movie is quite interesting... within the context of the game, things are very generic, as they might be in a computer game, and a certain level of fakeness pervades the entire movie, all working to create this unsettling feeling of "is this real?". The depiction of the gadgets and the "bioports" were quite well done, and well, made me squirm because it looked... disgusting.

Overall, I'd say it wasn't a great movie, but it certainly wasn't a bad movie and was quite interesting. So check it out if you're interested, but don't be sad if you miss it.

The DVD: The video and sound on this disc were acceptable, with the only special feature being a theatrical trailer. The movie "recommendations" are a joke, and they suggested that if you liked this movie you should see From Dusk Till Dawn and From Dusk Till Dawn 2... these movies are not even on the same level, so these suggestions are just ludicrous.