exterminate all rational thought [march 13, 2005]

Finally, I manage to watch Naked Lunch, David Cronenberg's infamous adaptation of the nightmarish work by William Burroughs. And to boot, it's the Criterion Collection release boasting lavish design, detailed sleeve notes, and a second DVD chock-full of extras. Cronenberg is the perfect choice to adapt the material and the result is not something easily digestible. This is a very very visceral exploration of the surreal frontier of the human mind. Cronenberg fans will relish familiar motifs: the body, excrutiatingly gross detail in the visions, the doppelganger (Dead Ringers, Spider). There's a great score by Ornette Coleman, and some nice opening titles (for a recent similar effort, check out The Incredibles). Bizarre to the last minute, it's a Kafka high; you feel like a bug.