10 Weird And Creepy Moments In David Cronenberg Films

4. Breathing Wounds

A History Of Violence is a noteworthy film in Cronenberg's canon as it was his first high-profile departure from the schlocky body horror films that had gone before (its predecessor Spider had signalled this change, but on a far lower budget). Starring Viggo Mortensen, who had only just rocketed to fame following the success of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, it follows a family man attempting to leave his life of crime - his "history of violence" - behind, and struggling to do so. Aside from the barnstorming cameo appearance of William Hurt at the film's conclusion, what stands out about this experimental take on the crime thriller is the continuing presence of body horror elements that Cronenberg indulges in despite the genre shift. The most prominent moment of this occurs during the diner scene early in the film, when Mortensen's character is forced to fight off a group of thugs. After shooting one attacker in the face, the assailant collapses to the floor. The audience is treating to a trademark Cronenberg close up of the wound in the man's cheek/mouth. What renders the image even more disturbing and graphic, however, is the fact that the man's breathing is exaggerated to the point that the bloody, ragged and gaping wound appears to be pulsing with life. Giving life to inanimate objects (cars, televisions, vaginas, etc.) is a theme of Cronenberg's work, and in AHOV he grants wounds themselves an anthropomorphic quality, as if the hole in the gangster's face is parasitically feeding off the pain of its host. This is an image rendered even more horrifying by the film's more straight-laced approach in comparison to the director's earlier output.