Videodrome

(Videodrome)

Max Renn is a cable TV operator for Channel 83, Toronto. His job consists in finding the most provocative shows in order to feed the needs of an audience. One day, his friend Harlan, a satellite TV geek tells him with a program he succeded to catch. It is named « Videodrome ». The emission shows a woman that underwent all kind of torture and mutilation by hidden faced men. Max is not horrified but enthusiastic. This program that seems to be emitted from Pennsylvania is the emission he was looking for.

Max meets Nicki Brand, a radio psychologist. Nicki, much more perverse than Max, insists to watch Videodrome. Fascinated, and despite Max's recommendations, she is determined to participate in the show. Max discovers that Videodrome is not a fiction but reality. His investigations leads him to doctor Brian O'Blivion. In place of home and food, his company -- Cathode Ray Mission -- and he provide to excluded people television programs. After an unfruitful visit, he receives home a video.

While watching it, he becomes victim of hallucinations. The video explains him that Videodrome changes the reality for those who watch at the show. Videodrome has created a tumor that enlarges in his brain and that causes him these hallucinations. Bianca, O'Blivion's daughter, reveals him other details. Videodrome is simply the means of distribution of a signal that creates a brain tumor leading to hallucinations and death. Videodrome has elsewhere caused her father's death last year and he now only lives threw his video collection. The reading of these videos explains that the tumor has for vocation to become a new organ able to receive signals emitted by Videodrome.

Max understands that his friend Harlan works for Barry Convex, the leader of Spectacular Optical, the company behind Videodrome. He reveals him that Videodrome had never been a hacked program. It was only a trap to use Max as a guinea pig. By means of this process, Convex hopes to change the face of the world and Channel 83 and Max are to be the vectors.

Barry plugs a video tape in Max's stomach. The video is a hallucinatory implant that suggests Max to kill his partners in order that Convex takes control over Channel 83. Max retreives in his stomach the gun he lost and merges it with his arm, transforming the man into a real killing machine.

He kills his partners and goes towards Cathode Ray Mission to kill Bianca O'Blivion...

 Spoiler ! the end of the story is revealed below…

Bianca is waiting for him. She uses her own subjection power to provoke new hallucination news upon Max. She implants her turn her own orders in his brain. Max new cause becomes « Death to Videodrome... Long live the New Flesh». He kills Harlan and shots Barry Convex during a convention in Toronto. His mission over, he finds refuge in an abandoned boat where Nicki appears on a television set. She convince him to belong to the New Flesh. He quietly raises the gun to his head, says "Long live the New Flesh," and pulls the trigger.