David Cronenberg is a legendary Canadian filmmaker who has had a long career of successful and sometimes controversial films. Most known for pioneering the "body horror" genre, Cronenberg often explores violence and mutilation usually mixed with some science fiction.

RELATED: Brandon Cronenberg's Possessor Expands Upon his Father's Sci-Fi Legacy

His films have polarized audiences for decades due to their extreme gore but also incredible special effects and direction. While he has made a number of successful sci-fi horror films, he has also seen success exploring other genres like crime and drama. For those looking to get into the director's filmography or for something to watch in preparation for Crimes of the Future, here's a look at some of David Cronenberg's best movies and where they can be watched as part of a subscription streaming service.

6 Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch

Release Date

December 27, 1991

Where to Stream as Part of a Subscription Service

N/A

Where to Rent

N/A

Naked Lunch is a surreal science fiction drama based on William S. Burroughs' book of the same name. Starring Peter Weller, the film follows a meek exterminator named Lee. When Lee begins to hallucinate due to inhaling fumes from his insecticides, he starts to believe he is a secret agent assigned to kill his wife.

After initially ignoring the hallucinations, he accidentally shoots his wife and is forced to escape to a mysterious town in Africa called the Interzone. There he begins compiling writing reports into a book called Naked Lunch (mirroring the life of the book's real author William S. Burroughs). At Interzone, he becomes entangled in a bizarre conspiracy involving giant insects, black market drugs, and mysterious doctors.

Naked Lunch received positive reviews at release but was considered a box office bomb. The film's unconventional storytelling and disturbing imagery turned a lot of people away. However, in time the film has gained a cult following for its unique way of adapting the novel and solid lead performance from Weller.

5 Scanners

Scanners

Release Date

January 14, 1981

Where to Stream as Part of a Subscription Service

Criterion Channel, HBO Max

Where to Rent

Amazon Prime, Tv.Apple

Scanners is a classic science fiction horror film from 1981. It follows humans known as scanners who can use their minds to gain psychic abilities like telepathy and telekinesis. When a man named Cameron Vale begins to hear voices and accidentally causes a woman to have a seizure, he is approached by an organization called ConSec who explain that he is a scanner. After promising to help Vale control his powers, they recruit him to stop a group of rogue scanners led by a man named Darryl Revok. As Revok plans his war against ConSec, Vale must use his new powers to defeat him.

Scanners was met with a mixed reception at release but garnered praise for its special effects. The iconic scene of Revok using his powers to make a mustached man's head explode has become one of the most famous scenes in all of Cronenberg's work and managed to launch him into fame as a director.

4 Eastern Promises

Eastern Promises

Release Date

September 14, 2007

Where to Stream as Part of a Subscription Service

N/A

Where to Rent

Amazon Prime, DirecTV, Google Play, Microsoft, Spectrum, Tv.Apple, Vudu, YouTube

Eastern Promises is a gangster film starring Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. The film follows a Russian midwife named Anna who delivers the baby of a 14-year-old prostitute who dies during childbirth. After discovering the girl was also a drug addict, Anna decides to investigate how something like this can happen to such a young girl. She eventually learns that the girl was forced into prostitution by the Russian mafia and was sex trafficked in London.

Anna begins to draw the attention of the mafia, and they threaten her along with the newborn baby. Mortensen also stars in the film as the infamous Russian enforcer Nikolai with a mysterious past.

Eastern Promises received rave reviews from critics and fans alike and was praised for its realism and acting performances. The film was also praised for drawing attention to the human trafficking epidemic that still goes on all over the world.

3 The Fly

Seth transformed into a fly in The Fly

Release Date

August 15, 1986

Where to Stream as Part of a Subscription Service

N/A

Where to Rent

Amazon Prime, AMC Theatres, DirecTV, Google Play, Microsoft, Tv.Apple, Vudu, YouTube

Arguably Cronenberg's most famous film, The Fly is a remake of a movie that came out in 1958, which was based on a book by George Langelaan. The film follows Jeff Goldblum as a scientist named Seth Brundle who creates a teleportation device. After meeting a journalist named Veronica, he takes her back to his lab and explains that the device cannot teleport live tissue. A few tweaks later, Seth finds himself testing the machine on his own body. He enters one pod and exits the other, showing a successful teleportation. However, unknowing to Seth, a fly entered the chamber alongside him.

RELATED: Sci-Fi Movies That Slowly Become Horror

Seth begins experiencing an extreme increase in speed, strength, and sugar cravings. After initially claiming it must be due to the machine "purifying" him, his life falls apart as he slowly transforms into a grotesque fly-like creature. The film was a huge hit and marked the biggest commercial success of Cronenberg's career.

2 A History Of Violence

A-History-Of-Violence-Viggo-Mortensen

Release Date

September 23, 2005

Where to Stream as Part of a Subscription Service

Tubi

Where to Rent

Amazon Prime, AMC Theatres, DirecTV, Google Play, Microsoft, Spectrum, Tv.Apple, Vudu, YouTube

A History of Violence is a crime drama starring Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris. Mortensen plays a small town diner owner named Tom who gets involved in a self-defense situation where he kills two men. Tom is hailed as a hero and the story makes national news. This event causes a man named Carl to come into town searching for Tom.

Carl claims that Tom is actually a man named Joey Cusack who fled the Irish mob. While Tom denies these accusations, Carl refuses to return from which he came and continues to stalk and threaten the protagonist. Carl's harassment leads to Tom's family being in turmoil as he's forced to explore his violent past.

A History of Violence is regarded as one of the best crime thrillers of all time. All the actors give stellar performances and Cronenberg shows that he can do more than just body horror.

1 Videodrome

An image from Videodrome

Release Date

February 4, 1983

Where to Stream as Part of a Subscription Service

Tubi

Where to Rent

Amazon Prime, DirecTV, Google Play, Microsoft, Tv.Apple, Vudu, YouTube

A science fiction horror film starring James Woods and Debbie Harry, Videodrome follows the owner of a small television station who comes across a mysterious late-night broadcast of snuff films simply called "Videodrome". He then chooses to research the source of the broadcast and finds out that it is coming from a secret location in Malaysia. Believing that this could be a profitable new venture for television, he continues allowing the show to air.

Max (James Woods) then meets a bizarre radio host named Nicki and becomes sexually involved with her. After showing her an episode of Videodrome, Nicki leaves to audition for the show. Nicki never returns and Max starts to worry. While investigating the real truth behind the show, he begins to experience disturbing hallucinations that cause him to slowly lose the ability to distinguish what's real and what isn't.

Videodrome is considered a cult classic and is one of Cronenberg's greatest films. Its themes of violence in the media and how technology can warp the mind are relevant now more than ever.

MORE: Best Sci-Fi Horror Movies