Beauty Break: Carol Spier & Cronenberg

by Cláudio Alves

As far as I'm concerned, EXISTENZ has Oscar-worthy production design.

Over the years, David Cronenberg has unleashed unimaginable visions onto the big screen, stretching the limits of body horror along the way. In the week the underrated eXistenZ celebrates its 25th anniversary, I was reminded of one name that should be nearly as recognized as that of the Canadian director. After all, Cronenbergian wouldn't be the same without the contributions of Carol Spier, his hard-working production designer whose mind has birthed such sights as Videodrome's flesh-like walls and the ruined tomorrow in Crimes of the Future. This year, the duo's new collaboration, The Shrouds, will premiere at Cannes in the official competition. Maybe Spier could even take the festival's Technical Grand Prize. It'd be a nice change of pace since, despite her genius, the artist has rarely been recognized by awards voters.

With all this in mind, let's recall some of Carol Spier's greatest creations for Cronenberg's nightmare cinema. Here are ten highlights from their shared filmography and where to watch them…

THE BROOD (1979)
Streaming on Max and the Criterion Channel. You can also rent and buy it on Amazon and Apple TV.

SCANNERS (1981)
Streaming on Max and the Criterion Channel. You can also rent and buy it on Amazon and Apple TV.

VIDEODROME (1983)
It's available to rent and purchase on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, and the Microsoft Store.

THE FLY (1986)
It's available to rent and purchase on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, and the Microsoft Store.

DEAD RINGERS (1988)
Streaming on Freevee, Hoopla, Kanopy, Peacock, Popcornflix, Tubi, Pluto TV, Shout! TV, and the Roku Channel. You can also rent or purchase it on Apple TV and Amazon.

NAKED LUNCH (1991)
Streaming exclusively on Max.

M. BUTTERFLY (1993)
It's available to rent and purchase on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube.

EXISTENZ (1999)
Streaming on Kanopy, Showtime, Tubi, and Pluto TV. You can also rent and buy it on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, and the Microsoft Store.

EASTERN PROMISES (2007)
Streaming on Max. It's also available to rent and purchase on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, the Microsoft Store, and Spectrum On Demand.

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE (2022)
Streaming on Hulu. You can also rent and purchase it on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, the Microsoft Store, and Spectrum On Demand.

What about you, dear reader? What are your favorite Carol Spier designs for David Cronenberg?

Comments

[Tony L]

LOVE eXistenZ!! How cool to come to the site and see an image from the film and article referencing it - made my day!

[thevoid99]

Truly one of the great production designers ever as she is one of the reasons why I love Cronenberg's films. I also have love for the work his late sister Denise does as his costume designer. He really does appreciate his collaborators.