David Cronenberg returns to sci-fi body horror in gross-out teaser for Crimes of the Future

The king of body horror is back. A teaser trailer for Crimes of the Future, arguably David Cronenberg's first full-out foray into body horror since 1999's Existenz, has just been released ahead of its 2022 Cannes Film Festival debut. 

The film takes place in a 'not-so-distant- future where the human species has adapted to a 'synthetic' environment and have evolved beyond their natural state and into metamorphosis which ultimately alters their genetic makeup. A celebrity performance artist named Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), along with his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), publicly showcase the metamorphosis of their organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which allows her to uncover a mysterious group with seemingly sinister intentions. Their mission? To use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution. (The movie shares the same name as another 1970 Cronenberg film, but is not a remake.)

The quick teaser, which can be viewed above, speeds through a montage of stomach-churning clips – with Stewart holding a device to her eye and making satisfied moans while poking literal holes in another person. Yeah, Cronenberg didn't come to play.

Cronenberg is known for mixing pleasure with pain (Crash, Videodrome) and stretching the limits of the human body as far as they can possibly go (The Fly, Scanners). The new film looks like a promising return to what the director does best: give us nightmares about our own flesh.

Crimes of the Future will premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival where it will be in competition for the Palme d'Or. For more, check out our list of upcoming movies in 2022.