52 David Cronenberg Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

Max Renn, the president of a TV station, comes to find out about 'Videodrome', a TV show that depicts torture and murder of nameless victims. Unknown to him the show can start controlling the minds of people. As Max starts uncovering the source of the show, he starts losing his mind and his sense of reality. 

Scientist Seth Brundle is able to transport living matter from one pod to another using his 'telepods'. Unfortunately, during one experiment he accidentally transports a fly along with himself, fusing them on a genetic level. From then on the movie follows the horrific disintegration of Seth’s psyche and his physical transformation into a massive fly. 

A car accident puts schoolteacher Johnny Smith into coma for five years. When he wakes up, he is disturbed to find that he has psychic powers to see anyone’s past and future by touching the person. After shaking hands with an upcoming politician, Johnny realizes that once this man gets in power he will cause upheaval, so Johnny feels compelled to take action. 

Anna Khitrova, a British midwife of Russian origin, comes across the diary of Russian teenager Tatiana who died during childbirth, and learns that she was raped, drugged and forced into prostitution by Russian crime-lord Semyon. In her quest to deliver the baby to Tatiana's family, she finds an unlikely ally in Nikolai, Semyon's driver and family "cleaner".

Scanners is a horror thriller film, which revolves around a group of people having incredible psychic abilities who are known as Scanners. The story revolves around a powerful scanner named Vale, who attempts to stop another scanner named Darryl Revok. Revok wants to dominate the world, along with few others of his own kind.  

Two twin gynecologists take advantage of the fact that no one can tell them apart. However, when one of them falls in love with a woman, their relationship begins into deteriorate. 

The Brood is a horror film which revolves around a mad doctor Hal Raglan, who tries psychoplasmic therapy on a woman.  

A diner owner's small-town life is turned around overnight when he kills two men attempting to rob his restaurant. After short-lived fame, relationships and trust are tested when a gangster turns up alleging that the diner owner is, in fact, a professional hitman.

Naked Lunch is a 1991 drama film revolving around a pest exterminator, who kills his wife accidentally, after he develops an addiction to the substances he uses to kill insects. He eventually gets involved in a secret government plot.    

This comedy drama film revolves around the life of the politically incorrect, impulsive and fearless Barney Panofsky, his relationships and marriages with multiple women, and how he raises his children.

The world seems to be nearing its end due to unknown reasons. As citizens are anxiously waiting for the apocalypse, there are also several people who are not able to cope with this.

Shivers is a horror science fiction film which revolves around a parasite which has been turning people into murderous maniacs.

In a futuristic world of biotechnological virtual reality games, game designer Allegra Geller is attacked by a Realist, when presenting her new game eXistenZ. She is rescued by Ted Pikul and plants the damaged game pod into Ted’s body. What happens from then on dissolves the lines between illusion and reality. 

To Die For is a black comedy crime film, which tells the story of Suzanne, a beautiful but naive girl, who is willing to do anything to achieve her career dreams of becoming a television newscaster. She is even willing to destroy anything or anyone that stands in her way, regardless of the cost or means.   

Rose and her boyfriend Hart get into an accident when Hart’s bike hits a van parked in the middle of the road. They both suffer significant injuries, and are soon transported to a nearby clinic for plastic surgery. The head doctor Dan decides to perform a radical new procedure on Rose, but it turns her into a zombie-like creature that thirsts for human blood.

Spider is a psychological drama mystery film, which tells the story of a disturbed man suffering from schizophrenia. His memory slips back into his childhood where he believes that his father has killed his mother brutally and has replaced her with a prostitute. 

Loosely based on true events, this romantic drama film tells the story of Rene Gallimard, a diplomat from France who is sent to Beijing. His life takes a turn when he gets infatuated with an opera performer, Song Liling. They soon begin a relationship. However, he is unaware of the fact that she is spying on him for the Chinese government.

This anthology film is a collection of 33 different short films, where the directors expresses their ideas and feelings regarding cinema.

A young Russian woman named Sabina Spielrein seeking treatment for hysteria is successfully treated by Carl Jung and later becomes a respected professional in psychoanalysis. Later they meet Freud in person and the married Jung begins an affair with Sabina. Unfortunately, a rift develops between Freud and Jung and Sabina wants more from Jung. 

After discovering that his wife has been cheating on him, an insomniac aerospace engineer named Ed Okin drives to an airport on the suggestion of his friend. However, his life takes a turn when a beautiful jewel smuggler named Diana jumps into his car and asks him to drive her to various locations.

Crash is a 1996 psychological thriller film which tells the story of a TV director who gets into a serious car accident. He then discovers an underground sub-culture of car-crash victims, for whom a car collision is a sexual turn-on, and it gives them a jotting life force which they come to crave. 

John Prudhome and Andrew Hollingsworth are two homicide detectives in Chicago, who are assigned to investigate a murder. They soon come across a series of murders committed by a maniac who has been using the limbs of his victims to recreate the body of Jesus Christ. Although John is trying to recover from the tragic death of his son, he tries his best to find the psychopath before he can reach his next victim.

A multi-millionnaire child star is trying to bag a comeback after his return from rehab when his estranged sister turns up with dark family secrets. Meanwhile, an ageing actress is trying to return to the big screen with a remake of her deceased film star mother's movie.

Based on the novel of the same name, Extreme Measures is a crime thriller film which tells the story of a young doctor who confronts one of his colleagues after he comes across unethical medical sacrifices being conducted in his hospital.  

A psychiatrist is living alone in a snowy field. Soon a former patient of his appears whose name is Ralph. Ralph has been following him obsessively as the relationship with the psychiatrist is the only meaningful relationship he has had.

The movie revolves around two veterans who engage in an interesting conversation while sitting in a bath. 

The film tells the story of a 28-year old billionaire asset manager, whose day devolves into his destruction, as he faces marital woes, health problems as well as financial crisis.   

A dim-witted family, who are convinced that they are victims of a conspiracy, comes to know about an illegal arms deal while they are hunting for their ‘stolen’ garbage. Colonel Neidermever, the man behind the operation, tries to get rid of them, but he fails.