42
Metascore
5 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- The first film by director David Cronenberg, the black and white, hour-long feature Stereo is more self-consciously avant-garde, and less visceral, than his later work. Nevertheless, many of the usual Cronenberg concerns are present: a futuristic setting, bizarre scientific experimentation, and an obsessive exploration of perverse forms of sexuality.
- Undone by a generally detached air, and by lengthy, choking narration (a factor of shooting without sync sound due to the noise of the camera), Stereo (and arguably his next feature too) is most valuable today as a document of Cronenberg the student, the filmmaker-in-gestation, searching for, but not yet finding that perfect balance between kink, thought experiment and actual entertainment.
- 50Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenEven the director’s most rabid fans will find Cronenberg’s debut to be a tough sit.
- Stereo mainly proves that you can't successfully spoof psychology merely by making it dull.