Reality in ExistenZ

So, we are then forced to question, what is reality? By his multi layered approach which gradually becomes more and more ‘unreal’, David Cronenburg leads us to the conclusion that the worlds of the film that are most like ours must be the reality, but a the same time undermining that reality with phrases such as, ‘I am not sure here is here anymore’. The complexity of what we have been viewing is shown to us in two final twists when the two main protagonists confront the ‘actual’ games designer and kill him saying, ‘Don’t you think that the world’s greats games artist should be punished for the most effective deforming of reality?’ The extent to which the reality has been distorted is shown to us when one of the players is confronted by our two protagonists and asks, ‘Hey, tell me the truth. Are we still in the game?’

The ending of ExistenZ shows to us how deeply Cronenburg has drawn us into false realities, making us question right until the very last and beyond, the truth of what we are seeing, playing with the way in which we conventionally view life and how easily we can be deceived. This is repeatedly reinforced throughout the film with he emphasis that is placed upon the name of the game and its sponsors leaving the audience unsure as to whether or not we are viewing the original world (that before they entered into the game) of the film. The sense that this is the true reality of the film is then further promoted by taking us into the realm of virtual reality inviting us to believe the former world as a truth. This is then revealed to us as the genuine reality.

ExistenZ plays with our perceptions by constantly changing what we believe to be reality by always leaving it open, but taking us further and further into the unknown.

Finally, we are then taken out of the environment of the game and into a room containing all the characters we have just been viewing removing their head-sets and talking frankly about the play of the game. through subtle devices such as the saturation of colour, the background and a two-headed mutant which through Jude Law’s eyes we are allowed to see is not unusual, though, at this stage we are still led to believe that this could be ‘reality’.