David Cronenberg

Directing

David Cronenberg

Born 1943-03-15 · Toronto, Ontario, Canada

David Paul Cronenberg (born 15 March 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and the intertwining of the psychological, physical, and technological. Cronenberg is best known for exploring these themes through sci-fi horror films such as Shivers (1975), Scanners (1981),  Videodrome (1983), and The Fly (1986). However, he has also directed dramas, psychological thrillers, and gangster films. Cronenberg's films have polarized critics and audiences; he has earned critical acclaim and sparked controversy for his depictions of gore and violence. The Village Voice called him "the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the English-speaking world". His films have won numerous awards, including the Special Jury Prize for Crash at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, a unique award that is distinct from the Jury Prize as it is not given annually but only at the request of the official jury, who in this case gave the award "for originality, for daring, and for audacity". From the 2000s to the 2020s, Cronenberg collaborated on several films with Viggo Mortensen, including A History of Violence (2005), Eastern Promises (2007), A Dangerous Method (2011) and Crimes of the Future (2022). Seven of his films were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or, the most recent being The Shrouds (2024), which was screened at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Description above from the Wikipedia article David Cronenberg, licensed under CC-BY-SA, is a full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Ready or Not: Here I Come poster
7.6

Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game — and this time with her estranged sister Faith at her side. Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins rules it all.

Ready or Not: Here I Come

2026

The Fly poster
7.4

When brilliant, eccentric scientist Seth Brundle makes a huge technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and the two become one.

The Fly

1986

Crash poster
6.5

A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.

Crash

1996

Videodrome poster
7.3

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn 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 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.

Videodrome

1983

Humane poster
5.4

In the wake of an environmental collapse that has forced humanity to shed 20% of its population, a family dinner erupts into chaos when a father's plan to enlist in the government's new euthanasia program goes horribly awry.

Humane

2024

Dead Ringers poster
7.1

Elliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire, but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness.

Dead Ringers

1988

To Die For poster
6.6

Suzanne Stone wants to be a world-famous news anchor and she is willing to do anything to get what she wants. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in cold determination and diabolical wiles. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she is forced to destroy anything and anyone that may stand in her way, regardless of the ultimate cost or means necessary.

To Die For

1995

Jason X poster
4.9

In the year 2455, Old Earth is now a contaminated planet abandoned for centuries -- a brown world of violent storms, toxic landmasses and poisonous seas. Yet humans have returned to the deadly place that they once fled, not to live, but to research the ancient, rusting artifacts of the long-gone civilizations. But it's not the harmful environment that could prove fatal to the intrepid, young explorers who have just landed on Old Earth. For them, it's Friday the 13th, and Jason lives!

Jason X

2001

Extreme Measures poster
6.0

Guy Luthan, a British doctor working at a hospital in New York, starts making unwelcome enquiries when the body of a man who died in his emergency room disappears. After the trail leads Luthan to the door of an eminent surgeon at the hospital, Luthan soon finds himself in extreme danger from people who want the hospital's secret to remain undiscovered.

Extreme Measures

1996

Into the Night poster
6.5

Ed Okin used to have a boring life. He used to have trouble getting to sleep. Then one night, he met Diana. Now, Ed's having trouble staying alive.

Into the Night

1985

To Each His Own Cinema poster
6.4

Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmakers to produce short pieces exploring the multifarious facets of cinema and their perspective on the state of their chosen artform in the early 21st century.

To Each His Own Cinema

2007

Shivers poster
6.4

The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are infected by parasites that turn them into mindless nymphomaniac fiends.

Shivers

1975

Resurrection poster
6.1

A jaded homicide detective has been put on the case of a ruthless killer in the city of Chicago, who leaves a trail of horribly mutilated and dismembered corpses along with perversely ironic biblical quotes.

Resurrection

1999

Falling poster
6.4

John Peterson lives with his partner Eric and their adopted daughter in Southern California. When he is visited by his aging father Willis from Los Angeles who is searching for a place to retire, their two very different worlds collide.

Falling

2020

Nightbreed poster
6.4

A troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of friendly monsters are hiding from humanity. Meanwhile, a sadistic serial killer is looking for a patsy.

Nightbreed

1990

Barney's Version poster
7.0

The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky.

Barney's Version

2010

The Stupids poster
4.8

An incredibly dull-witted family unknowingly stumble upon an illegal weapons deal while on the trail of their "stolen" garbage.

The Stupids

1996

A Special Day poster
5.3

At the 60th anniversary of Cannes Film Festival, 34 famous directors are followed by camera.

A Special Day

2012

The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld poster
4.0

The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld is an intimate portrait of what it means to expose oneself. At its center is the iconoclastic film producer Stuart Cornfeld (1952-2020) sharp-tongued, outspoken, irreverent, and true to himself. The film unfolds through the eyes of an artist who, in Stuart’s final years, paints multiple portraits while speaking with him and those who knew him best (friends, collaborators, actors, film directors and, film producers) tracing the life of a man who embraced misfits because he, too, never quite fit in.

The Hanging of Stuart Cornfeld

2025

Disappearance at Clifton Hill poster
5.5

Following the death of her mother, a young woman returns home to Niagara Falls and becomes entangled in the memory of a kidnapping she claims to have witnessed as a child.

Disappearance at Clifton Hill

2020

Last Night poster
6.7

Various citizens of Toronto anxiously await the end of the world, which is occurring at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day.

Last Night

1998

Music, Fashion, Film poster
8.0

A companion film to the Charli xcx album of the same name, Music, Fashion, Film presents a series of docu-style clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and in-studio footage shot by close friends.

Music, Fashion, Film

2026

100 Greatest Sexy Moments poster
3.5

Documentary, based on a British poll, listing the 100 sexiest movie and TV moments. Supplemented by new interviews with performers, filmmakers, and authors/critics.

100 Greatest Sexy Moments

2003

Trial by Jury poster
5.4

Valerie is a juror in the trial of a mob boss. When her young son's life is threatened, she has no option other than to see that justice isn't done.

Trial by Jury

1994

Behind the camera

The Fly poster
7.4

When brilliant, eccentric scientist Seth Brundle makes a huge technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and the two become one.

The Fly

1986

The Fly poster
7.4

When brilliant, eccentric scientist Seth Brundle makes a huge technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and the two become one.

The Fly

1986

A History of Violence poster
7.2

An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.

A History of Violence

2005

Crash poster
6.5

A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.

Crash

1996

Crash poster
6.5

A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.

Crash

1996

Crash poster
6.5

A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.

Crash

1996

Videodrome poster
7.3

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn 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 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.

Videodrome

1983

Videodrome poster
7.3

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn 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 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.

Videodrome

1983

eXistenZ poster
6.8

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

eXistenZ

1999

eXistenZ poster
6.8

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

eXistenZ

1999

eXistenZ poster
6.8

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

eXistenZ

1999

Eastern Promises poster
7.3

A Russian teenager living in London dies during childbirth but leaves clues in her diary that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.

Eastern Promises

2007

The Dead Zone poster
7.0

Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.

The Dead Zone

1983

Dead Ringers poster
7.1

Elliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire, but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness.

Dead Ringers

1988

Dead Ringers poster
7.1

Elliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire, but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness.

Dead Ringers

1988

Dead Ringers poster
7.1

Elliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire, but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness.

Dead Ringers

1988

Maps to the Stars poster
6.2

Driven by an intense need for fame and validation, members of a dysfunctional Hollywood family chase celebrity, one another, and the relentless ghosts of their pasts. Their fragile ecosystem is disrupted by the arrival of Agatha, the scarred and estranged pyromaniac daughter.

Maps to the Stars

2014

Scanners poster
6.7

A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called 'scanning' to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non-Scanners.

Scanners

1981

Scanners poster
6.7

A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called 'scanning' to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non-Scanners.

Scanners

1981

The Shrouds poster
5.8

Inconsolable since the death of his wife, prominent businessman Karsh Relikh invents a revolutionary and controversial technology that enables the living to monitor their dear departed in their shrouds. One night, multiple graves, including that of Karsh’s wife, are desecrated, and he sets out to track down the perpetrators.

The Shrouds

2025

The Shrouds poster
5.8

Inconsolable since the death of his wife, prominent businessman Karsh Relikh invents a revolutionary and controversial technology that enables the living to monitor their dear departed in their shrouds. One night, multiple graves, including that of Karsh’s wife, are desecrated, and he sets out to track down the perpetrators.

The Shrouds

2025

Crimes of the Future poster
6.0

With his partner Caprice, celebrity performance artist Saul Tenser publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. An investigator from the National Organ Registry obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed... Their mission — to use Tenser's notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.

Crimes of the Future

2022

Crimes of the Future poster
6.0

With his partner Caprice, celebrity performance artist Saul Tenser publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. An investigator from the National Organ Registry obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed... Their mission — to use Tenser's notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.

Crimes of the Future

2022

A Dangerous Method poster
6.3

Seduced by the challenge of an impossible case, the driven Dr. Carl Jung takes the unbalanced yet beautiful Sabina Spielrein as his patient. Jung’s weapon is the method of his master, the renowned Sigmund Freud. Both men fall under Sabina’s spell.

A Dangerous Method

2011