David Cronenberg: Clinical Trials

An illustrated monograph on the work of legendary writer/director David Cronenberg, master of body horror and cinematic provocateur behind films such as The Fly, Scanners, Naked Lunch, Eastern Promises, and Crimes of the Future

David Cronenberg’s films have long enjoyed a cult following, pushing the boundaries of taste, blending high art with horror, and straddling the commercial and the cutting-edge. Here, the reader will be presented with the familiar and unfamiliar aspects of iconic films such as Videodrome, The Fly, Naked Lunch, and Crash. Though dividing the book into two halves suggests a binary, the Jungian-inspired chapters within each will emphasize that this work--and the world itself--is perpetually shifting. The reader will progress through these different stages (of Jungian individuation and therapy) and see how the recurrent narrative, cultural, and visual themes loop back and intersect with one another. Rather than a straightforward narrative about a filmmaker, this book will be a dreamlike exploration of all that is Cronenbergian. Featuring a foreword by Oscar-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen, it also includes interviews with composer Howard Shore, production designer Carol Spier, cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, and producer and playwright/screenwriter Jeremy Thomas.

Violet Lucca is the VP of digital at Harper’s magazine. She was previously the digital producer at Film Comment, where she started, produced, edited, and hosted their podcast. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Art in America, Criterion Current, Sight and Sound, Bust, the Village Voice/L.A. Weekly, and Film Comment. She lives in Brooklyn and shares an intense psychic bond with her two cats, Emmylou and Perkins.