Here's why Cannes audience WALKED OUT of Kristen Stewart-starrer 'Crimes of the Future'

Cronenberg's recent festival project has made some of the audience and critics at Cannes walk out despite earning a seven-minute standing ovation
UPDATED MAY 26, 2022
(L-R) Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen, and Kristen Stewart in a still from 'Crimes of the Future' (NEON)
(L-R) Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen, and Kristen Stewart in a still from 'Crimes of the Future' (NEON)

David Cronenberg is no stranger to shocking filmgoers and critics at Cannes. 'Crash', his 1996 directorial, was booed at by viewers, who walked out of the theater. Francis Ford Coppola, the then jury president, had said that some of the jury members had even "abstained very passionately" from awarding the film a special jury prize. 

The Canadian filmmaker is back at Cannes and he has managed to stir the pot once again, this time with his body horror flick titled 'Crimes of the Future' starring Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen, and Kristen Stewart. But before we get to the matter at hand, here's the official synopsis: "As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed… Their mission – to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution."

READ MORE

Jamie Foxx cozies up to mystery woman in Cannes: Here are the people actor has dated post Katie Holmes

Who's Kiera Chaplin? Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter stuns in revealing black gown at Cannes

The film premiered at Cannes and, according to Variety, made dozens of viewers storm out midway as they couldn't sit through the events that were unfolding on the screen. Here are some of the things that the filmgoers probably couldn't stomach: shots of intestines, scenes where characters orgasm by licking each other's open wounds, and a gory child autopsy sequence. In a separate press screening, 5 critics ended up leaving, and we're guessing they share the same reasons as the viewers from the previous screening. 

'Crimes of the Future', however, received a seven-minute-long standing ovation, despite some of the viewers finding it uncomfortable to sit through. Cronenberg had mentioned during an interview with Variety (prior to the premiere) that there "might be walkouts" and that "a normal audience would have no problem with the movie." 

'Crimes of the Future' is slated to release in theaters in the US on June 3, 2022.

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe are set to return, reprising their roles as Koichi Shikishima and Noriko Oishi, respectively
22 minutes ago
Lin-Manuel Miranda had previously directed the feature film 'Tick, Tick, Boom!' as well as the Broadway production of 'Hamilton.'
9 hours ago
Sony Pictures dropped exclusive look at Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming film 'The Social Reckoning' at CinemaCon 2026, a sequel to 2010’s 'The Social Network'
11 hours ago
The upcoming horror movie is the sixth film in the 'Insidious' franchise and will release in August this year
16 hours ago
Robin Williams played Alan Parrish in the first-ever movie of the franchise in 1995
17 hours ago
CinemaCon 2026 screened an exclusive scene featuring the two fan-favorite characters from the franchise's next installment
20 hours ago
The annual convention featured exciting upcoming projects from Angel Studios, Sony Pictures Classics, StudioCanal, and more
21 hours ago
Sony confirms an R-rated ‘Bloodborne’ animated feature, which will include brutal action and unsettling creatures
22 hours ago
The trailer for 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' reveals young Haymitch facing the deadly 50th Hunger Games in Panem’s brutal arena.
1 day ago
At the time of writing, there has been no official word from Netflix or Brown about 'Perfect'
3 days ago