Shivers (They Come From Within)
Emblematic of the Coronavirus pandemic, Shivers tells the story of a science experiment gone horribly wrong and the ill-effects it has on a civilized society. In Starliner Towers, a suburban Montreal apartment complex, a scientist devises an experiment in which genetically engineered parasites can be used as organ transplants, functioning as a human organ.
Film Synopsis
As the parasite becomes more conscious of its surroundings it spreads. Subsequently, the other patrons living at the complex slowly become infected with this contagious organism. This parasite turns individuals into sex-crazed fiends, who become aroused by the slightest human contact and who pass on the parasitic bug through forceful and unwarranted sexual acts.
The film commences with a documentary-like depiction of the Montreal Starliner Towers and its surroundings. The rest of the film is shown primarily through the observation of three central characters.
Firstly, business mogul Nick Tudor becomes infected with the parasite, thus the viewer is subjected to seeing the point of view of the uncivilized and infected. The viewer is also subjected to experiencing their status quo and their sense of “normal”, as it differs from that of the uninfected characters.
The viewer also perceives the film through Doctor Roger St. Luc. St. Luc is shown as a civilized protagonist in the film, trying to eradicate the infection, and alongside him is his assistant, Nurse Forsythe. Forsythe, along with most of the other apartment-goers slowly become infected and thus the viewer sees them as uncivilized.
By the closing sequence of the film Doctor St. Luc is the only uninfected individual left, therefore the viewer experiences his character with sympathy and likely roots for him in his journey to escape the clutches of the infected characters and to rid the infected of this virus.
Film Story
In “Shivers” there is a sequence where Nicholas Tudor begins to have convulsions to try and rid his body of the infectious parasite. This sequence begins with Tudor sitting on his couch enjoying an alcoholic drink after leaving work early. In a matter of seconds, however, he violently jolts to the floor in agony. While laying on his back Tudor has violent stomach convulsions and begins dry heaving.
(1) Civilization and its Discontents
In regard to this scene, Sigmund Freud argues that “we shall never completely master nature; and (that) our bodily organism, itself a part of that nature, will always remain a transient structure with a limited capacity for adaptation and achievement.” Notably, this passage from Freud is suggesting that no human can overcome the powerful forces of nature. That our own bodily functions along with nature are out of our control and are inseparable. Therefore, we must be content with our temporary existence, knowing we don’t have the same potential or capabilities that our own organism(s) and nature have.
Freud is arguing that humans will always come second to nature and our organisms in that regard. Asserting that our own bodily organism and functions, along with nature are way too complex for any human to fully understand or conceptualize. This organism Freud mentions could be construed as the parasite in Shivers, as it too, remains a transient entity which lasts for only a short period of time because it resides in only one human body at a time. This concept is best displayed in the scene where Nick Tudor begins suffering from convulsions.
Consequently, Tudor becomes covered in his own blood and aimlessly stumbles around his apartment, as if being control by the parasitic life-form that lives within him. The parasite itself is also a transient and makeshift structure as Freud alludes to, as such, the bodily organism is a temporary being that is a part of nature, with limited abilities of adaption.
The parasite was temporarily, or transiently apart of Tudor’s structure, until he coughs it out onto the old lady’s umbrella down below. Once on the ground outside, the parasite could not adapt to its surroundings and with no people to infect it wearily sunk into the surface of the ground, whilst not achieving anything either.
Correspondingly, the parasite is also a part of nature, as Freud suggests, because it slithers into the earth at the end of this sequence, where it seemingly becomes one with nature. Ultimately, the parasite (which is unified with nature) forces Tudor to commit actions against his will and without regard to his bodily boarders, which Tudor cannot prevent from happening. ‘Beyond the power of Priest or Science to Excorcise!’
Film Text
An apt representation of film text is illustrated in the slow motion sequence at 1:23:48 in “Shivers”. To give this sequence context the events that lead up to it reveal all of the sex-crazed fiends converging on Doctor Roger St. Luc, who runs frantically to the Starliner indoor pool trying to escape. Once there, St. Luc sees his infected nurse sensually fooling around in the pool. St. Luc then attempts to escape the room through the patio door but is then cornered by hundreds of infected Starliner residents, who all methodically force him back inside and throw him into the pool.
(2) Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection
An argument that Julia Kristeva asserts in her essay Powers of Horror, is that “it is not (the) lack of cleanliness or health that causes abjection but what disturbs identity, system, order” (Kristeva, 1982). When a person is portrayed as abject in society they are thought of as being rejected by others and as an outcast in society. As it relates to “Shivers”, this abjection is clearly portrayed in this pool sequence because it is the very moment when the last uninfected individual becomes infected within this confined space.
When St. Luc becomes infected that re-defines his sense of “normal” and his status quo to that of societal abjection. All of the sex-fiends also rebel against the conventions of identity, system and order through their heinous sexual actions in the pool and throughout the narrative.
(3) Slow Motion Editing
In brief, the use of slow motion editing and rapid close-up shots reveals the emotions of the infected characters without telling us anything literally, but instead communicating lustful emotions through the aid of this textual device and the medium.
These close-ups, along with the slow and protracted nature of this sequence creates an eerie atmosphere of abjection. This abjection is made ostensible through the visual of the infected hands all grabbing St. Luc in rapid succession. The filmic device used in this sequence is slow motion editing, which helps the viewer visualize and experience the character’s actions and emotions more clearly.
The use of slow motion also aids the viewer in emphasizing the imagery. In this scene there are also flash frame close-ups of the infected Starliner residents faces in the pool, jerking upward in excitement of their current state, where they are now free and without order. The use of slow motion editing in this sequence also evokes a feeling of dread in the viewer for St. Luc’s possible fate, while making the scene more dramatic. Once the viewer realizes that St. Luc, the last civilized person is now infected and now uncivilized there is an abjection with that character.
There is an abjection because these infectious individuals are all rejects and outcasts in society who don’t conform to social order. In going against social order they don’t function within the parameters of the law, but instead they commit sexual assaults that strip them of their moral identity. As Kristeva helps point out, what disturbs identity and order causes abjection, therefore these fiends are all abject in society. Overall, the fiends actions make them hedonistic maniacs, who denote sexual pleasure as the highest and most important aim of human life.
