Editorial Review:Amazon.com:'If this picture doesn't make you scream and squirm, you should see a psychiatrist--quick!' shouts the film's trailer. This time the hyperbole is right. David Cronenberg's debut feature, and Canada's first domestic horror film, is an ingeniously engineered slasher of thoroughly modern horror that, like George Romero's
Night of the Living Dead, charts a social breakdown by tearing through our most intrinsic taboos. A genetically engineered designer parasite--part aphrodisiac, part venereal disease--created by a modern-day mad scientist escapes into a colorless, self-contained apartment complex and goes searching for hosts. This monstrous parasite multiplies and invades the alienated occupants, turning them into a pack of id-driven sex maniacs. Cronenberg's suffocating vision of modern life turns his budgetary limitations--dreary, bland sets, flat lighting, and numb performances--into a severe portrait of society out of touch with its physical and emotional existence. Cronenberg pushed the boundaries of gore in 1974, but more insidious is the way he pushes the boundaries of behavior: under the influence of this invasive disease, families turn to incest and murder, strangers sexually assault the helpless, and finally they band together as a pack of bloodthirsty, libido-driven animals. That taboo-breaking display still has the power to get under your skin. The film has also been released under the titles
The Parasite Murders and
They Came from Within. Cult horror icon Barbara Steele costars.
--Sean Axmaker
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Orgy of the Blood Parasites
Cronenburg loves to press your buttons. Any deeply troublesome idea, any frightful notion, any scouring feeling that makes you uncomfortable--he wants to uncover and examine it.
Shivers opens up in an inviting way. There is a depiction of perhaps a perfect suburban development. It displays the latest and greatest luxuries that modern technology has to offer. But this little community has some problems...
Mainly, some disgusting little parasites. A doctor decides to experiment with some venereal diseases and aphrodisiacs. But unfortunately, in the process he accidentally spawned some gross bloodsuckers that cause rampant and lewd sexual behaviour. Chaos ensues as this fatal sex craze speads throughout the area. There is incest, rape, and beastiality to accompany the ferocious bloodletting. This mass paranoia and fear reminded me of the classics Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Night of the Living Dead.
Now, this movie is extremely low budget. The special effects are also cheesy, so this might not appeal to many people. But the spooky creativity that encompasses the story is phenomenal. This movie was made in 74, not long before the onset of the AIDS virus. How does David come up with this stuff!? I'm still mesmerized by his bleak and imaginative storytelling. Always cutting edge, Cronie never hesitates to shake up the societal framework and watch it all come crashing down. He doesn't try to appeal to the masses.
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THANKS CRONENBERG FOR THE NIGHTMARES
SHIVERS was the movie that FREAKED me out when I was a kid.
I saw the movie in 76 on a triple bill with SQUIRM and BUG.
SHIVERS came on last and did not disappoint! It all starts
with a Doctor trying to bust a door open on a young teenage girl
the Doctor breaks the door down and strangles the girl. Next
he strips her down naked and puts her on the table takes a scalpel
and starts to slice down her abdomen,he than pours in her stomach a
acid, walks away and takes the scalpel on himself by cutting his throat.
Whats not explained at first is why did this Doctor do that? Well
later in the movie it is explained that the Doctor is a dirty old man
and likes his teenage girls. The Doctor develops a parasite that
makes men/women have sex no matter with whom for long period of times.
David exposed HORROR to me at a very young age(6 yrs.old) and though
this movie does not have a chainsaw maniac or a 11 yr. old girl
that can impersonate a owl it has HORROR for the psyche! To get back
to the story of the film the sexual parasites go from person to person
through their mouth and once it has you you are forever a sexual zombie
a SEXBIE so to speak. This movie is very influenced by Night of the
Living Dead. All your heroes in the film are trapped inside The Hotel
and all your heroes either die or become SEXBIE'S one by one till
you have only one actor left who looks dead-on like Chuck Norris
from Return of the Dragon! He also gets it in the end(SPOILER) till
there is no one left in the Hotel to attack. They all get in their
cars to drive off to other places and the D.J. on the radio says
the all to famous...PEOPLE ARE ATTACKING THEIR LOVE ONES,STRANGERS
ANIMALS??? LOCK UP YOUR DOORS DON'T TALK TO ANYONE AND-AND THERE
TRYING TO GET THROUGH HERE IN THE STUDIO FIND HELP BEFORE IT'S TO
LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGG! I really love this movie and yes it is
VERY low budget and the parasites look like Chicken Strips from a restaurant but it has a EERIE look to it,I still remember the feeling
I had when I first saw this and the one actor who looked like a deranged
Tim Allen with his stomach smoking from acid and blood in his mouth
giving me the CREEPS! Also the scene of the two little girls acting
like dogs complete with collars around their necks as Dad is walking them
and the scene of the hero locking himself in a room just to have the
lights on behind him turn on and a very old man and a very young girl
stand up the old man says to the hero of the movie..HAVE YOU MET
MY GRANDDAUGHTER ERICA? (starts to french kiss her) I JUST LOVE
MY GRANDDAUGHTER ERICA........AGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! FREAKED ME OUT AT AGE
SIX! SHIVERS is Cronenburg's first movie and anyone who loves HORROR
should know that Canada man Cronie. I recommend SHIVERS to all,just
don't watch it with a sibling...YOU WILL FEEL DISTURBED!
Rating: -
Another Cronenberg classic!!!
I finally picked up this DVD at a Used DVD store and I was very happy that I did. I am an avid Cronenberg fan and loved this movie. It is a very twisted horror fest that has a very dark side. It is a cross with zombie movies and Cronenberg's Rabid. The story is very believable and the gore is over the top for it's time. I can't believe that no one wanted to produce this movie when Cronenberg originally wrote it. This one is a must see for all Cronenberg fans!!!!
Rating: -
"I just know you'll like my daughter..."
The first feature film to come from visionary director David Cronenberg, Shivers still manages to pack enough shocks and social commentary under it's horiffic story to make it relevant today. When invading parasites begin to infest and turn their human hosts into depraved and violent sexual predators, the few uneffected in a high rise apartment building do what they can to survive. Low budget to it's core and primitive in it's presentation, Shivers packs a punch thanks to Cronenberg's inventive and groundbreaking story. Heavy with metaphor and bearing many resemblances to Night of the Living Dead (particularly the final scenes when all the infected band together as a pack), Shivers ends up proving to be a wildly twisted and blood soaked beginning from one of the most innovative directors to come out of the genre in the past few decades. If you've never seen Shivers and are a Cronenberg fan, try to check it out if you can find it; you won't be disappointed, and you'll get to see one of the true modern masters of the horror genre display some early brilliance.
Rating: 
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Movie Vhs- They Came From Within
The VHS tape worked fine. Dust cover showed signs of wear. Product came from rental store, so that's to be expected. However the movie I saw was not the original...like it was when I saw it in 1974. Scenes had been edited, or cut out completly. The scenes cut were the 'steamier' ones. Obviously some uptight censor got hold of this film after I had seen the original in 1974. Because of the cuts the movie was hard to follow, and lost the parts of the film that made it 'interesting'. Bad flick!
