Having established himself as the pre-eminent peddler of body horror, David Cronenberg has more recently taken, if not a U-turn, then certainly a deviation into the realm of satire with his latest films Cosmopolis and Maps To The Stars. In the early 2000s Cronenberg also tackled the gangster genre with Eastern Promises and A History Of Violence, but the real underrated entry from this era was undoubtedly Spider. Starring Ralph Fiennes, this was a strange yet compelling psychological thriller about a mentally disturbed man returning to the community and living in a halfway house. Considerably downplayed compared to much of Cronenberg's other films, Spider premiered at Cannes then sank into obscurity - diehard fans may have lauded the film, but beyond this few are aware of its existence.
