Why John Carpenter Says this Chilling Body Horror Thriller Streaming on Peacock “Really works”
John Carpenter recently sat down with the fine folks at Criterion to discuss his top ten from their impressive arsenal. Not surprisingly, he spoke regarding his undying appreciation for Only Angels Have Wings and a few others he is known to hold in high regard. But what captured our attention was Carpenter’s affinity for a sinister offering from body horror aficionado David Cronenberg.
John Carpenter holds this David Cronenberg classic in high regard.
Carpenter revealed to Criterion that he has great appreciation for Dead Ringers, and even pointed out that he sees a level of dark comedy beneath the film’s sterile surface. Interesting, I can’t necessarily disagree.
“David Cronenberg is a friend of mine,” Carpenter began. “His approach to his movies is very intellectual. He’s always thought everything out. I find Dead Ringers, with those horrible instruments and Jeremy Irons’s great dual performance, to actually be very funny. It all really works!”
I agree that there is a certain level of comedy in Dead Ringers. The film will not inspire a lot of guffaws and the humor may be lost on many. But I can’t help but agree that the film is tragically comedic on occasion. Jeremy Irons is so committed to the characters he plays within that their unraveling yields a couple of awkward, uncomfortable, and somehow almost comical exchanges.
What do you think, dear reader? Is there a level of black comedy contained within Dead Ringers? If you need a refresher, you can stream the film on Peacock as of the publication of this post.
The setup for Dead Ringers goes accordingly:
Elliot (Irons), a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly (also Irons). Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire (Geneviève Bujold), but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness.
That’s all we have for you, for the time being. Stay tuned to the site for more recommendations from the Masters of Horror as we succeed in uncovering them. Also, don’t forget to follow @DreadCentral on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (please don’t call it X) so you never miss out on one of our updates.
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