PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SGA-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Dead Ringers being covered here wouldn’t exist.
David Cronenberg is most well-known for his uncompromising and often gory body horror flicks such as Shivers, Rabid, and the uncomfortably semi-prophetic Videodrome. Cronenberg is a cornerstone in the genre not only for these but for all of his contributions. Shifting from low-budget overachiever to acclaimed auteur, the well-educated Canadian filmmaker and author has been blowing minds since the early seventies. But after his very impressive first few films – which were seeped in visceral horrors – Cronenberg delivers Dead Ringers – a daring and dark look at the internal struggles of twin brothers. Below are seven fascinating facts surrounding David Cronenberg and his ninth feature.
– Dead Ringers was loosely based on the deaths of identical twins Stewart and Cyril Marcus, who were found decomposing in their New York City apartment from withdrawals of their hefty barbiturate addiction. Much like the characters in the film, Beverly and Elliot, Stewart and Cyril were gynecologists, and their plight was recorded – albeit dramatically – in the 1977 book ‘Twins’ written by Jack Geasland and Bari Wood. Cronenberg would go on to use this book as the bones of his story.
– Released in 1988, Dead Ringers was one of the first films to utilize computer-controlled moving-matte photography in order to achieve seamless shots featuring actor Jeremy Irons in his dual role as Beverly and Elliot Mantle.
– Upon its release in September of 1988, Dead Ringers did not find success at the box office in Canada or the United States, but that did not stop well-deserved accolades from being attached to the film. Despite a poor North American outing at cinemas, Dead Ringers pretty much swept the Genie Awards (the annual award ceremony recognizing the best of Canadian film and television) the following year. Dead Ringers racked up twelve nominations with ten wins, including Best Motion Picture and Best Direction for Cronenberg, Best Actor for Jeremy Irons, Best Score for Howard Shore, and Best Cinematography for Peter Suschitzky.
– Prolific award-winning composer Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings, The Silence of the Lambs) has scored every single David Cronenberg film except one – The Dead Zone.
– In Dead Ringers, the Mantle brothers consider the idea of having a beauty contest for inner organs. This idea is later used and expanded upon in Cronenberg’s 2022 film, Crimes of the Future.
– Dead Ringers marks the beginning of an artistic alliance between David Cronenberg and renowned cinematographer Peter Suschitzy (The Empire Strikes Back, The Rocky Horror Picture Show) where they have gone on to collaborate nearly a dozen times, including Naked Lunch, Crash, and M. Butterfly.
– The Criterion Collection – the American distribution company that focuses on giving the gold star treatment to worthwhile films new and old with spectacular physical media releases and more – has had its finger on the pulse of cinema since its inception in the early 1980s. Criterion houses an incredible selection of titles from some of the most acclaimed filmmakers in history. Agnes Varda, a pioneer in the French New Wave film movement, has 15 films in the Criterion library, while Japanese master of cinema Akira Kurosawa has 27, and celebrated Swedish movie god Ingmar Bergman has over forty. David Cronenberg, the Baron of Blood, has a very respectable six flicks in the Criterion Collection; The Brood, Crash, Naked Lunch, Scanners, Videodrome, and Dead Ringers.
Help celebrate the film’s 35th anniversary with a watch! You can stream Dead Ringers on Tubi, Amazon Prime, and Pluto TV.
