Stereo (1969)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg (writer)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

Sometime in the future, the Canadian Academy for Erotic Inquiry is investigating the theories of parapsychologist Luther Stringfellow...

Plot Keywords:

Aphrodisiac | Sex Game | Sexual Encounter | Sexuality | Sex

Cast

Ronald Mlodzik
Jack Messinger
Iain Ewing
Clara Mayer
Paul Mulholland
Arlene Mlodzik
Glenn McCauley

Directed by
David Cronenberg

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Cronenberg		writer

Produced by
David Cronenberg	....	producer

Cinematography by
David Cronenberg

Film Editing by
David Cronenberg

Other crew
Janet G.M. Good	....	production aide
Pedro McCormick	....	production aide
Stefan Nosko	....	production aide

Production Companies

• Emergent Films Ltd.

Distributors

• Film Canada Presentations (1969) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Nightmare Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Pan Vision Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2006) (self applied) | UK:12 | UK:12 (2006)

Company:

Emergent Films Ltd.

Trivia:

David Cronenberg (26 at the time) secured funding for the film from the Canadian government by pretending he was writing a novel.

regretfully dull and unrewarding...

While this rare student film of Cronenberg's was certainly a pleasure to come across, it sure as shoot didn't offer much for pleasure or entertainment period once actually viewed. Designed as a "faked" B & W, voiceover-only documentary on the extra-sensory/psychic abilities of a group of young subjects in an enclosed secluded laboratory, with the big problem being that "faked" documentaries on any subject generally manage to make themselves entertaining by being either funny (as was the case with "Spinal Tap," "Waiting For Guffman," "Fear Of A Black Hat," etc.), or disturbing/disgusting/scary/whatever (i.e. "Blair Witch," "The Last Broadcast," "Snuff," etc.) Unfortunately this film didn't seem to try to take any sort of emotional approach to the material--it didn't even have any of the nauseating gore & makeup effects characteristic of his later films like "The Brood" and "The Fly"--and thus simply managed to be tedious and unrewarding.

While it is enjoyable to see some of Cronenberg's early stock actors at work here (some of whom would later have smaller roles in his later films), and the subject matter for the film is an obvious precursor to his later "Scanners," ultimately the darn thing will probably do little more than offer the completists out there some rather unenthusiastic bragging rights. Whatta snooze!