Surgery is the new sex, apparently, as a trio of clips from seminal director David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future tease the warped art exhibition at the center of the filmmaker’s return to body horror. Released courtesy of The Playlist, the clips offer further insight into the body horror comeback of David Cronenberg, with the director once again crafting a grim vision of the future — one that is sure to cause all manner of controversy when it debuts at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

The clips give us an extended look at the main players in David Cronenberg’s wonderfully bizarre game of art and sexuality, as Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart slowly become wrapped up in each other in the pursuit of a world-changing performance.

Crimes of the Future sees David Cronenberg return to the body horror sub-genre after an absence of more than two decades. With fans of the director excited, intrigued and apprehensive in equal measure to see what he does.

Crimes of the Future will drop audiences into an alternate future. As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), Saul Tenser (Mortensen), celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed… Their mission – to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.

The body horror flick will be led by A History of Violence and The Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen as Saul Tenser, with No Time to Die star Léa Seydoux as Caprice. The supporting cast is made up of Kristen Stewart as Timlin, alongside Scott Speedman, Welket Bungué, Don McKellar, Lihi Kornowski, Tanaya Beatty, Yorgos Karamihos, Yorgos Pirpassopoulos, and Nadia Litz.

Crimes of the Future is Expected to Lead to Walkouts

Ear person with ears sewed on in Crimes of the Future
Vertigo Films

While Crimes of the Future is due to premiere at the Cannes Festival, a lucky few have already basked in the twisted delights of Cronenberg’s latest. And some believe that it will be even more controversial than the director’s 1996 divisive outing, Crash. “I cannot say much, obviously, but… this is going to create way more chaos and controversy for sure,” the anonymous viewer said of Crimes of the Future. “The last twenty minutes are a very tough sit. I expect walk-outs, faintings and real panic attacks (I almost had one myself!) at [Cannes Film Festival’s] Lumière theatre. No hyperbole, I promise.”

David Cronenberg himself expects Crimes of the Future to result in walkouts. "There are some very strong scenes,” the filmmaker said. “I mean, I’m sure that we will have walkouts within the first five minutes of the movie. I’m sure of that. Some people who have seen the film have said that they think the last 20 minutes will be very hard on people, and that there’ll be a lot of walkouts. Some guy said that he almost had a panic attack. And I say, "Well, that would be OK." But I’m not convinced that that will be a general reaction. I do expect walkouts in Cannes, and that’s a very special thing. [Laughs]"

Crimes of the Future is scheduled to premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.