The Daily Think

In all sense of the word nepotism is an immediate ball-kick that screams of privilege and sucks in all forms. We tend to hate it since most of us will not benefit from nepotism, but most likely become a victim of it. The names of nepotism are easily our most disliked and polarizing characters in our media. Obviously, the Trumps, Harry and Meghan, Hunter Biden, the Kardashians the list can go on, and on top of that there is the covert nepotistic opportunism at our workplaces we aren’t privy to. But before I get you riled up on negativity, I would like to make the argument for positive nepotism, namely in the film direction world of one Brandon Cronenberg.

LET’S GO BRANDON…CRONENBERG

Now, nepotism is not entirely at work here with the case of Brandon, and perhaps even beyond name recognition, this is a case for the idea that direct or indirect nepotism had any effect on the success of Brandon’s career. I believe there are countless other examples of talented Hollywood people whose acting is on par with their parentage, think Jamie Lee Curtis, John David Washington or Drew Barrymore. Perhaps it’s not nepotism per se but more of Networking and brand recognition. Regardless, we just want to cover Brandon Cronenberg and his slow rise to make a name for himself.

QUICKIE ON DAVID C-BERG

Whether it was The Fly, the Dead Zone, or Dead Ringers, we all became familiar with the name Cronenberg in the 80’s. But even before that father David was directing projects in the 70’s like Shiver, Rabid and Fast Company. And even in the midst of his career in the 80’s, other directors acknowledged his name by using his actual name as part of the description of David Cronenberg-esque film ideas. One of my personal favorites, Night of the Creeps names the main female lead “Cynthia Cronenberg.” And even to this day as you browse for something to watch on the handful of platforms you have in their Sci-fi section, the Cronenberg imagery is instantly recognizable. But let’s save the David Cronenberg retrospective for another time (which for hella sure deserves multiple ones based on his career arc) and lets focus on the son Brandon who might have inherited more than just a name from his parental units.

APPLES DON’T FALL TO FAR FROM THEIR TREES
With only 3 true studio, budgeted films under his belt in the past 11 years, he certainly is taking his time and measuring his impact with quality over quantity. Although I wouldn’t mind more quantity, perhaps that is a great luxury to have, patience. Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, and Todd Field have all kept their body of work tight and avoided saturation. But let’s take the plunge into the 3.

ANTIVIRAL – What’s that on your skin bro?
Starting in 2012, Brandon released Antiviral and immediately was hit with praise and for tapping into a fine young actor like Caleb Landry Jones to play the lead. There were of course some familiar body horror elements (where did we see that before?) but focus not on that and consider the broader elements of a bleak future vision with a media obsessed culture that

gives you an appetizer perhaps a harbinger of things to come from the director. The film also gained him many awards and nominations from film industry and an easy tagline comparing him to his father, which is immediately unfair, and should be viewed without that knowledge…but again I point to the article title, it didn’t hurt either.

POSSESSOR – We need a Sci-Fi Exorcism to be performed.
After maybe taking time off to work on personal projects and a few shorts here and there, it wasn’t until 2020 we get the sophomore effort of Possessor, or Possessor Uncut depending on if you watch the unrated or R rated versions. This is where Brandon really let loose the bat and slammed it across the countertop demanding your attention. With another excellent choice in cast, including soon to be Oscar nominated Andrea Riseborough and Tarantino and

Lynch alum Jennifer Jason Leigh along with his weapons of choice in cinematographer Karim Hussain, visual effects not reliant on CGI, and a deep consideration for the idea of mind transference, Brandon had the elements in his lab to make a memorable film experience. Watch with caution as there are versions out there that had to be cut, hence the need for the Possessor Uncut version which contains more scenes that earned it an unrated or 18A (adult rating in Canada) rating. And whenever you watch Brandon’s films, there are elements that stick with you after viewing it, and you realize you witnessed something unique in film and hopefully the story and overall experience is worthy as a collective project. Possessor WAS!

INFINITY POOL – Adult Swim, not the Cartoon Network
Just a few short years after Possessor, Infinity Pool released in 2023 got the hype and attention it deserved but did fall short in execution. Absolutely gorgeous in many aspects, with another stunning cast of beauty and talent in Alexander Sarsgaard, Mia Goth, and Cleopatra Coleman and a haunting score from Tim Hecker, there was perhaps 2-3 elements too many in the ultimate execution of the film. NO DIRECT SPOILERS – but to give you any

additional knowledge of the film’s plot will not assist you in making the decision to watch his films or not: You either want to watch a Cronenberg (Brandon) film or not. I will again rely on the thematic exploration that you will find such as ambiguous Sci-Fi tropes, body horror, violence and sex, again he earned an NC17 and required re-cuts to get Neon to release an R Rated version. BUT, let me be clear, I may not have liked this as much as Antiviral and Possessor, but your damn straight I will plunk some cash down to watch this lad’s finalized vision of an opus.

SO IS IT NEPO-BABY OR FAMILIAR MARKETING?
Whatever the case may be and whatever brings you to the father son combination of David and Brandon, you will take away a unique visual experience that sticks with you. I reiterate that nepotism is not involved here. Nepotism as defined is “favoring relatives by those with power and influence,” and Brandon would have succeeded on his own without the shadow of his father who scared the crap out of me and Martin Scorsese (a funny quote from David C. was that Scorsese was scared to meet him in person!) There is definitely name recognition in play, and that may lead you to lean one way or the other based on your knowledge of the elder Cronenberg’s work. How unfair and unfortunate for Brandon to probably have every article talk about his similarities to his dad (this article included) but perhaps that is the result of having a name that is recognizable before even getting to know or view the work that a person creates. Is this just a case of unintended nepotistic powers that David Cronenberg used on us, the viewing public to give others in his family some of our limited hours in life to view their product? Perhaps, and thankfully there are only 3 of them as of today, and they’re all worth your limited hours in life!