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Naked Lunch

Play trailer Poster for Naked Lunch R 1991 1h 55m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
73% Tomatometer 40 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Blank-faced bug killer Bill Lee (Peter Weller) and his dead-eyed wife, Joan (Judy Davis), like to get high on Bill's pest poisons while lounging with Beat poet pals. After meeting the devilish Dr. Benway (Roy Scheider), Bill gets a drug made from a centipede. Upon indulging, he accidentally kills Joan, takes orders from his typewriter-turned-cockroach, ends up in a constantly mutating Mediterranean city and learns that his hip friends have published his work -- which he doesn't remember writing.
Naked Lunch

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Strange, maddening, and at times incomprehensible, Naked Lunch is nonetheless an engrossing experience.

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Critics Reviews

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Steve Murray Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sep 23, 2025
Elegantly perverse and as black as comedy gets, the film is like a sick joke served on a silver platter. Go to Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader May 26, 2022
4/4
What emerges is recognizable but fully transformed Burroughs material. Go to Full Review David Ansen Newsweek Mar 31, 2008
Obviously this is not everybody's cup of weird tea: you must have a taste for the esthetics of disgust. For those up to the dare, it's one clammily compelling movie. Go to Full Review Joe Lipsett Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network Apr 18, 2024
2.5/5
A challenging film to engage with if you're unfamiliar with the life and work of William S. Burroughs. Visually it's very surreal and fantastical (the typewriters!), but narratively it doesn't come together in a satisfying way. Go to Full Review Howard Waldstein CBR Jun 27, 2023
The book is, in many ways screed against conformity, and an ode to consciousness. The film, which is much easier to follow, is as much a tribute to the author who wrote the book as it is an attempt to make some sense of the slippery narrative. Go to Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault Aug 31, 2022
A-
A remarkably lucid and enjoyable riff on an unfilmable (some say unreadable) book. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad Sep 15, 2026 Naked Lunch = a *4* star Movie! See more Fernando M @RT76471198 Jul 9, 2026 I honestly can’t remember who recommended this movie to me, but they definitely deserve a thank you. It’s one of those films that’s more interesting than it is engaging. The ideas are there, but the story never reaches the same level as the novel—which isn’t exactly a light read to begin with. Peter Weller carries himself with the confidence and professionalism you’d expect. The rest of the cast… not so much. I was particularly hoping for more from Ian Holm, but it never really happens. And did this movie really need to be over two hours long? Not at all. Trim it down to 90 minutes and you lose nothing. Lingering on scenes isn’t the same as building atmosphere. Still, it’s an intriguing watch, even if it doesn’t quite live up to its potential. 4 solid tomatoes. See more Jens B @Jens97 Mar 30, 2026 It was fun, I'll probably watch it again sometime as a double feature with "Queer". Peter Weller and Daniel Craig look remarkably alike. There was a bit too much mumbling for my taste, and the first half of the film drags a little. See more Caleb G. @dapperdanman6 Mar 19, 2026 Layered with symbolism, dark truths and wacky other- dimensional hijinks See more john h @RT11274104 Jun 5, 2025 A creative adaptation of Burrough's novel of the same name. Naked Lunch is a repulsive, disgusting and sometimes beautiful experience to share in a theater during its most frightening Cronenberg moments. See more Sutil S @RT29849962 Dec 25, 2023 Just... seriously. What an amazing film! When I first saw it as a 20 year old film buff kid, in film school I thought it was an ok cool movie that was weird made by a director I liked and a writer I thought I knew and liked but 20 years later I'm 40 and re watched this Masterpiece! And it clicked in so many ways it didn't back then even though I thought I got it... but now it was an amazing experience to see the struggles of a drug addicted writer portrayed on screen as a noir style fantasy mystery... it's just brilliant beyond brilliant... that ending... ooozing of so much meaning See more Read all reviews
Naked Lunch

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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David Cronenberg

Director

Peter Weller

Bill Lee

Judy Davis

Joan Frost

Ian Holm

Tom Frost

Julian Sands

Yves Cloquet

Roy Scheider

Doctor Benway

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Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch (1991) Naked Lunch (1991) Naked Lunch (1991) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Blank-faced bug killer Bill Lee (Peter Weller) and his dead-eyed wife, Joan (Judy Davis), like to get high on Bill's pest poisons while lounging with Beat poet pals. After meeting the devilish Dr. Benway (Roy Scheider), Bill gets a drug made from a centipede. Upon indulging, he accidentally kills Joan, takes orders from his typewriter-turned-cockroach, ends up in a constantly mutating Mediterranean city and learns that his hip friends have published his work -- which he doesn't remember writing.
Director
David Cronenberg
Producer
Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter
David Cronenberg, William Lee
Distributor
20th Century Fox, Criterion Collection
Production Co
Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
Rating
R
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 27, 1991, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.2M
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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