- Actors: Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry, Allan Kolman, Susan Petrie
- Directors: David Cronenberg
- Writers: David Cronenberg
- Producers: Alfred Pariser, André Link, Don Carmody, Ivan Reitman, John Dunning
- Format: PAL
- Language English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.77:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 18
- Studio: Prism
- DVD Release Date: 6 Jan 2003
- Run Time: 87 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005R0EM
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 21,308 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
"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. Shivers, David Croneberg's debut feature and Canada's first domestic horror film, is an ingeniously engineered modern horror that, like George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), 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 colourless, 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 behaviour: under the influence of this insidious, 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 co-stars. --Sean Axmaker
DVD Description
DVD Special Features:
Video Introduction
By Director David Cronenberg
Production Notes by Kim Newman
Cast and Crew Filmographies
Image Gallery
16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen feature
Main Soundtrack: English
Dolby Digital 1: (Mono)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Some early horror films have disappointed (sorry, but "Night of the living dead" didn't do it for me), and many of David Cronenberg's films have missed ("Scanners" being the king of the "Oooo, that was so close!").
This film, strangely, works on both levels: it is a good, older horror, and it is a good David Cronenberg film.
The low budget is obvious, but does not overwhelm the film. David Cronenberg's bravery to go beyond the "decent" is to be commended, as he ended up creating something more believable.
My only real critism of the film, is that for a film about sex crazed people, there is very little sex (pretty much none), and very little nudity.
That aside, this is a solid, creepy horror. Recommended.
This film, strangely, works on both levels: it is a good, older horror, and it is a good David Cronenberg film.
The low budget is obvious, but does not overwhelm the film. David Cronenberg's bravery to go beyond the "decent" is to be commended, as he ended up creating something more believable.
My only real critism of the film, is that for a film about sex crazed people, there is very little sex (pretty much none), and very little nudity.
That aside, this is a solid, creepy horror. Recommended.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I first saw this when a teenager - and I was still disturbed by it when I saw it again recently, now in my 30's. The casting is brilliant: all the people look slightly strange, slightly off kilter. The sequence at the end in the swimming pool, in slow motion, still sends shivers (really no pun intended - can't think how to put it better)down my spine. Along with 'Rabid' (also an 'infected' film), this is my favourite Cronenberg.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Cronenberg says this is Alien before Alien. I'm a big fan of Alien and I first saw it long before Shivers. When I first saw Shivers, Alien didn't even occur to me. OK, there's a similarity, but there's a big difference: in Alien there's an alien; in Shivers, the gut-bursting horrors are man-made. Big diference. A totally different kind of horror. And in Shivers, the nasties set humans on humans. Perhaps more shocking, perhaps just as far-fetched...
Maybe not.
The storyline parallels don't really matter. The level of technical expertise and professionalism perhaps do: Shivers is decidedly a little rough around the edges compared with Alien. But in the end, that doesn't matter. Just as Alien is a masterpiece, so is Shivers. It is an early Cronenberg masterpiece that simply must not be missed.
Maybe not.
The storyline parallels don't really matter. The level of technical expertise and professionalism perhaps do: Shivers is decidedly a little rough around the edges compared with Alien. But in the end, that doesn't matter. Just as Alien is a masterpiece, so is Shivers. It is an early Cronenberg masterpiece that simply must not be missed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
See a genius director's first masterpiece
If you are even contemplating buying this film then chances are you are a David Cronenberg fan.
And fans of the master of body horror will not be dissappointed. Read more
And fans of the master of body horror will not be dissappointed. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr Blonde
EVERYTHING IS EROTIC
Everything is erotic.Old flesh,dying,talking.....man is an animal that thinks too much....good golly do i love Cronenberg who manages in a single sentence of dialogue more... Read more
Published 1 month ago by mister joe
Awesome!!!
What can i say that's not already been said???
This film is awesome, a total classic and i love it.
You wont be dissapointed... Buy it!!!
This film is awesome, a total classic and i love it.
You wont be dissapointed... Buy it!!!
Published 2 months ago by DJGolden
can't recommend zOverstocks at all
The movie is great I saw it at when it came out. zOverstocks aren't, firstly they sent me the wrong DVD. Read more
Published 16 months ago by otto
High-Rise Horniness
"Shivers", a.k.a. "They Came From Within" and "The Parasite Murders", is an early chiller from The Canadian King of Horror, David Cronenberg, about residents in a high-rise... Read more
Published on 28 April 2010 by Jeremy W. Newbould
Stomach churning terror.
This excellent film leads from a shocking start on a rapid downward spiral of fear and tension.
The eponymous creatures spread and with them the film, set in a tower block... Read more
The eponymous creatures spread and with them the film, set in a tower block... Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2001 by cashpilip@hotmail.com
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