eXistenZ

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eXistenZ

R

1999

1h 37m

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

76%

Tomatometer

68 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Video game designer Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has created a virtual reality game called eXistenZ. After a crazed fan attempts to kill her, Allegra goes on the run with Ted (Jude Law), a young businessman who falls into the role of bodyguard. In an attempt to save her game, Allegra implants into Ted's body the video game pod that carries a damaged copy of eXistenZ. Allegra and Ted engage in a series of experiences that blur the lines between fantasy and reality.

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Critics Consensus

Gooey, slimy, grotesque fun.

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Danny Leigh

Financial Times

Mar 26, 2020

4/5

What we have here is a witty sci-fi teaser built around the coming wave of deep immersion gaming.

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J. Hoberman

The New York Review of Books

Mar 8, 2019

It's striking that eXistenZ, a send-up of computer games that parodied The Matrix avant la lettre, and one of the great underappreciated movies of the late 1990s, yields the richest trove of relics.

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

May 21, 2018

eXistenZ - both Allegra's latest beta release and David Cronenberg's dizzying B-movie - makes the different textures of game, film and life increasingly difficult to tease apart.

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Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

Apr 29, 2024

4/5

This pseudo-sequel to 'Videodrome' is arguably better than its predecessor.

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Apr 24, 2024

4/5

Cronenberg's meditation on gaming and simulation has a tinge of Y2K hysteria, but its philosophical questioning of the impact on our humanity is very welcome and low-fi compared to other films of the time. Also: Jennifer Jason Leigh devours this role.

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Kevin Carr

Fat Guys at the Movies

Feb 3, 2024

4/4

Bizarrely prescient and dripping in paranoia, this is Cronenberg’s last great effort into speculative fiction.

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Cassandra P

@RT12001974 Oct 27, 2026

I don’t know what to say, had to watch this movie in my college class, I’m a fan of horror but this is something else that I’m not sure how to describe. It’s gross, incredibly so and very confusing but some how it’s kind of good? I’m not familiar with the maker of this and went in completely blind and frankly I don’t wanna eat lunch now. I don’t know if I’d recommend it but to me it’s a been there done that got a t-shirt. Def a movie I won’t forget but also I don’t hate it? My brain hurts…

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 9, 2026

eXistenZ = a 3.5 star Movie

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Leonardo L

@RT58170675 Aug 20, 2026

The movie is weird, but very interesting with excelente acting.

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Tomek D

@SzybkiSeans Jul 18, 2026

★★★★½ Przez lata eXistenZ żył w cieniu Matrixa. Niesłusznie. O ile Matrix zadaje pytanie: „Który świat jest prawdziwy?", Cronenberg idzie o krok dalej i pyta: „Czy ta różnica w ogóle ma jeszcze znaczenie?" To jeden z najbardziej „dickowskich" filmów, jakie powstały, mimo że nie jest adaptacją Philipa K. Dicka. Organiczne konsole, bioporty, broń z kości i charakterystyczny body horror nie są tu tylko dziwactwem dla efektu – tworzą świat, w którym granica między rzeczywistością a iluzją rozpływa się z każdą kolejną sceną. Po ponad 25 latach film wydaje się nawet bardziej aktualny niż w dniu premiery. W epoce algorytmów, mediów społecznościowych i sztucznej inteligencji jego pytania wybrzmiewają mocniej niż kiedykolwiek. To nie jest film, który kończy się wraz z napisami. On dopiero wtedy zaczyna pracować w głowie widza.

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Scott M

@RT75128960 Dec 30, 2025

Strange f#$king film. But that's Cronenberg. First time watching it I did find it oddly entertaining. His commentary on the DVD explained a lot.

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Thomas W

@Enigma0999 Dec 6, 2025

Absolute shocking nonsense.

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David Cronenberg

Director

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Allegra Geller

Jude Law

Ted Pikul

Willem Dafoe

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Ian Holm

Kiri Vinokur

Don McKellar

Yevgeny Nourish

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Synopsis

Video game designer Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has created a virtual reality game called eXistenZ. After a crazed fan attempts to kill her, Allegra goes on the run with Ted (Jude Law), a young businessman who falls into the role of bodyguard. In an attempt to save her game, Allegra implants into Ted's body the video game pod that carries a damaged copy of eXistenZ. Allegra and Ted engage in a series of experiences that blur the lines between fantasy and reality.

Director: David Cronenberg
Producer: David Cronenberg, Andras Hamori, Robert Lantos
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Miramax, Alliance Atlantis Communications, Natural Nylon Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 23, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.8M
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital

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