Shivers

The New Flesh:
David Cronenberg’s Body Horror, Part I

Our latest Cinema Shock series, David Cronenberg: The New Flesh, takes a deep dive into the early films of the Canadian auteur that helped define the genre of body horror.

We begin with 1975’s SHIVERS, Cronenberg’s first commercial feature and a landmark in Canadian cinema. A film about a parasitic STD that turns a luxury high-rise into a sex-crazed nightmare, SHIVERS shocked audiences and critics alike—earning both condemnation in Parliament and instant cult status.

In this episode, we trace Cronenberg’s origins in the Toronto underground film scene, the controversial government funding that helped launch his career, and how SHIVERS established the obsessions—flesh, disease, transformation—that would define his work for decades to come.

We also explore the film’s production history, its reception, and the legacy it left in its wake—both for Cronenberg and for Canadian genre cinema as a whole.

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Theme Song: "There's Still a Little Bit of Time, If We Hurry and I Mean Hurry" by Slasher Film Festival Strategy.

This episode was written, produced and edited by Gary Horne, Justin Bishop, and Todd A. Davis.