David Cronenberg (The Fly) takes on William S. Burroughs's novel, considered both extremely controversial and incredibly influential, following an exterminator...
David Cronenberg (The Fly) takes on William S. Burroughs's novel, considered both extremely controversial and incredibly influential, following an exterminator addicted to his own bug-killing poison.
Blank-faced bug killer Bill Lee (Peter Weller, RoboCop) and his dead-eyed wife, Joan (Judy Davis), like to get high on Bill's pest poisons while lounging with Beat poet pals. After meeting the devilish Dr. Benway, Bill gets a drug made from a centipede. Upon indulging, he accidentally kills Joan, takes orders from his typewriter-turned-cockroach, ends up in a constantly mutating Mediterranean city and learns that his hip friends have published his work -- which he doesn't remember writing.
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72 %39 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® rating
77 %34,073 reviewsAudience score rating
"While I admired it in an abstract way, I felt repelled by the material on a visceral level."
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Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert"A treat for Cronenberg fans, though this could hardly be called a gripping, or emotionally involving, story; you're more likely to need a can of bug spray than a hanky."
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TV Guide
TV Guide"There's a synergistic overlap here between Cronenberg's own particular brand of weirdness and Burroughs's; they're both twisted in ways that complement each other nicely."
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The Washington Post
The Washington PostNaked Lunch | Details
- Rating
- M, Medium level coarse language, Adult themes, Drug use
- Runtime
- 115
- Genre
- Drama
- Country of origin
- Canada, UK, Japan
