A Canadian biochemistry student who switched to English language and literature, David Cronenberg can legitimately be described as the most original director currently working on the North American continent. His films, which are always shot in Canada - Canadian cities doubling for New York or Marrakesh - fall generally within the horror genre. They deal with secret scientific experiments that go wrong, cannibalism, sexual mutation and epidemic disease. Depending on your point of view, Cronenberg is either a maker of sick exploitation movies or an ascetic prophet of the modern age.