Pan and Slam

Naked Lunch (1991)

by Jason Koenigsberg

1991 was a particularly strong year for cinema. 25 years ago audiences were treated to incredible motion pictures as diverse as JFK, Boyz N tha Hood, Silence of the Lambs, The Fisher King, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day moviegoers were downright spoiled with the amazing modern classics they were able to see in theaters. One film that sort of got lost in the shuffle of greatness that was 1991 was David Cronenberg’s adaptation of William S. Burrough’s hallucinatory, once thought unfilmable Naked Lunch. The story of an exterminator (Peter Weller) and his wife (Judy Davis) living in New York City during the 1950’s. They are both drug addicts and are plunged into a surreal world of talking bugs and other grotesque images. Tripping into an “interzone” that 25 years later still feels bizarre, humorous and a haunting commentary on addiction and writers block. Naked Lunch is a unique film experience that should be seen if you are in the mood for something a very weird and against the grain. 

Naked Lunch is currently available to stream on HBO Go.