Crash (1996)

57% of critics liked it
(49 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(54,148 ratings)

After surviving a brutal car wreck, commercial director James Ballard finds himself slowly drawn to a mysterious subculture of people who have transformed automobile accidents into erotic events. Like the J.G. Ballard novel that inspired it, David Cronenberg's study of the sexual dimension of man's… More After surviving a brutal car wreck, commercial director James Ballard finds himself slowly drawn to a mysterious subculture of people who have transformed automobile accidents into erotic events. Like the J.G. Ballard novel that inspired it, David Cronenberg's study of the sexual dimension of man's relationship to technology was a magnet for controversy, drawing a NC-17 rating and criticism from several sources, including studio owner Ted Turner, who attempted to prevent the film's American release. But though some have leveled charges of pornography, James' descent into this fetishistic underworld is approached with cold, scientific detachment. Characters like Vaughn, the charismatic group leader who stages recreations of celebrity car crashes, seem more like driven researchers than sexual renegades, which is undoubtedly part of the film's point. This impression is reinforced by the pristine cinematography by Peter Suschitzsky, which proves particularly haunting during a crucial accident scene, and Howard Shore's superb score. Far from exploitative, Crash in fact proves less transgressive than the original novel, but is still undoubtedly not for all tastes. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: NC-17, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: David Cronenberg
Written By: David Cronenberg
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: May 17, 1996 Wide
On DVD: Nov 17, 1998

Critic Reviews

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
For a movie obsessed with the connection between sexual intercourse and car accidents, David Cronenberg's Crash could hardly be more stationary.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
While the director remains firmly behind the wheel for the first hour or so, he cracks up toward the end with sequences that send the film and the audience into a ditch.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Mr. Cronenberg, for once oddly inhibited by brazen subject matter, has made a meticulously stylized and controlled film that leaves many of its characters' ideas muffled and lacks the true audacity its material demands.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
"Crash" doesn't extend beyond its most immediate sensationalism. When the movie does attempt to find a theme, it slams into a brick wall of mumbo-jumbo.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
So far from being involving or compelling, so intentionally disconnected from any kind of recognizable emotion, that by comparison David Lynch's removed "Lost Highway" plays like "Lassie Come Home."
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
It's about the human mind, about the way we grow enslaved by the particular things that turn us on, and forgive ourselves our trespasses.
Rob Nelson, City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
With Crash, David Cronenberg drives mainstream cinema over the edge.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Crash is a mutant work of art -- a bracing splash of ice water.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
It's a dark, disturbing, languorous movie, as ludicrous, hermetic and repetitive, perhaps, as Ballard's original, but admirably assured and true to itself.
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)
Wildly unwatchable, as if someone had made Andy Warhol's Frankenstein without being in on the joke.
Jeremiah Kipp, Slant Magazine
It's the cold survival logic of Darwin, where libertarians leave their past behind as if it were dead.
, Film4
A stylish, intriguing and typically warped vision that hybridises the imaginations of Ballard and Cronenberg.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
In that re-identification of "otherness," he betrays his awe of humanity.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
One of Cronenberg's few misfires.
Rumsey Taylor, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
Crash is a violently rare exception to the continually careful stride of film, and few films have been made with such a conviction to such inherently controversial material.
Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer
It may be the best movie you'll never want to see.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Graham J

In my opinion, this film is a masterpiece by Cronenberg. Features a frightening performance from Elias Koteas.
Unknown H

I seem to have been the only person who HADN'T seen this movie so I decided to give it a watch and at the end of it, I kinda wish I had remained a Crash virgin for the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I love gratuitous sex on many levels but this film just didn't… More
I seem to have been the only person who HADN'T seen this movie so I decided to give it a watch and at the end of it, I kinda wish I had remained a Crash virgin for the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I love gratuitous sex on many levels but this film just didn't deliver any real plot to me. So they were in a car crash, then they became nymphs? If there is any poetry in this movie it was lost on me. Half a star for the idea, which was original, half a star for the Cronenberg name and then one massive star for the tattoo sucking scene between Spader and Koteas.
AJ V

From Cronenberg, director of disturbing sci-fi/horror movies, comes a disturbing romantic drama, Crash. The subject matter is morbid and incredibly strange, as a group of people find themselves turned on by car crashes. I really liked this movie because it is unique for one thing,… More
From Cronenberg, director of disturbing sci-fi/horror movies, comes a disturbing romantic drama, Crash. The subject matter is morbid and incredibly strange, as a group of people find themselves turned on by car crashes. I really liked this movie because it is unique for one thing, but also because of the great actors who do a brilliant job with such strange characters. If this movie sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend it.
Jeff "

How can one review a film such as Crash? Dadid Cronenberg's film can be regarded as a metaphor for the extremes of human obsession. Cronenberg has made a career out of bizarre subjects for his films. In the case of Crash, it explores the sexual fetishes that people feel they… More
How can one review a film such as Crash? Dadid Cronenberg's film can be regarded as a metaphor for the extremes of human obsession. Cronenberg has made a career out of bizarre subjects for his films. In the case of Crash, it explores the sexual fetishes that people feel they get out of car crash. The people in the film get turned on by the car Crash, as Vaughan (played by Elias Koteas) says the Car Crash is a liberation of sexual energy. Crash for me, is an avant garde piece of cinema. Croneberg's film explores the darkside of the human mind, and in pure Cronenberg fashion, the film leaves feeling bewildered at the true nature of the meaning of this film. The film leaves you guessing what it really is about. Crash is a powerful film that definitely will polarize viewers. The cast that David Cronenberg has at hand all deliver strong performances. Elias Koteas is incredible as Vaughan, a so called scientist obsessed with recreating famous fatal car crashes. Vaughan has a devoted following of people with the same fetish and he befriends Doctor Helen Remington and James Spader who become involved in his latest project. Both Remingston and Ballard are connected as they search for the means to release their sexual energy through car crashes which they experienced before joining Vaughan. The film is a means of describing human sexual obsession and how some people trespass the fine line of sanity. David Cronenberg's Crash is one of the weirdest, most eccentric films in cinematic history and reason its so controversial is that it touches on the topic of the darkest realms of human sexuality, and much like David Fincher's Fight Club, Crash is a metaphor for sexual obsession, while Fight Club was a metaphor for excessive consumerism. Watch this film with caution as this may offend mainstream viewers.
Conner R

Easily the most bizarre David Cronenberg movie, which says a lot. I can't say that I loved it, but it should be seen for the outrageous subject matter alone. It is beautifully shot and acted, I just can't see myself going back revisiting this. Sex and cars are just not… More
Easily the most bizarre David Cronenberg movie, which says a lot. I can't say that I loved it, but it should be seen for the outrageous subject matter alone. It is beautifully shot and acted, I just can't see myself going back revisiting this. Sex and cars are just not something I associate together, especially not car crashes and sex. All the actors play there parts well, I won't soon forget Elias Koteas as a ravaged sexual predator/voyeur/tattoo fiend. James Spader should be commended for have very little dialogue, yet conveying a very clear and precise character. By no means is this a bad movie, it's just incredibly different and unpleasant to watch at times.
Antony S

Difficult to get a handle on, but the beauty lies in its distance from almost every film, allowing the film to always leave the viewer feeling uncomfortable in its exporation of future pathology. I love it so much I have the source novel and screenplay! I'm after the incredible… More
Difficult to get a handle on, but the beauty lies in its distance from almost every film, allowing the film to always leave the viewer feeling uncomfortable in its exporation of future pathology. I love it so much I have the source novel and screenplay! I'm after the incredible soundtrack too.
xGary X

David Cronenberg's adaptation of J. G. Ballard's novel revolves around a group of fetishists whose near death experiences in road accidents cause them to garner erotic pleasure from the sights and sounds of auto wrecks. As immaculately directed as it is, Crash will most… More
David Cronenberg's adaptation of J. G. Ballard's novel revolves around a group of fetishists whose near death experiences in road accidents cause them to garner erotic pleasure from the sights and sounds of auto wrecks. As immaculately directed as it is, Crash will most certainly not to be to everyone's tastes. It's a study of the alienation from humanity of a group of individuals whose sexual encounters are little more than a series of impersonally brief and violent collisions, loaded with imagery of contorted figures and bondage fetishism. It's a strangely cold and distant film for something so full of sexual metaphors and eroticism, but that's kind of the point. James Spader made a career out of playing these kinds of sexually and socially deviant types, and Elias Koteas is one of the creepiest figures I've ever seen in a film, his stiff, shambling gait, sallow complexion and patchwork of scars make him look like a modern day Frankenstein's monster. Crash is really a sexual horror that relies on atmosphere and mood rather than drama and as such is an interesting experiment in representing a sexual psychology, but that doesn't necessarily make for popular entertainment. Try before you buy.
Lady D

David Cronenberg?s ?Crash? isn?t for everybody. The theme of the film is sexually orientated to a particular fetish and really has nothing more to offer than adrenalin infused romps. Don?t get me wrong, I?m not prudish when it comes to such films, but from the reviews I?ve… More
David Cronenberg?s ?Crash? isn?t for everybody. The theme of the film is sexually orientated to a particular fetish and really has nothing more to offer than adrenalin infused romps. Don?t get me wrong, I?m not prudish when it comes to such films, but from the reviews I?ve previously received, I had thought this film was going to be some kind of controversial masterpiece.
Anthony L

Controversial and one of Cronenberg?s best
Red L

I've read the novel and seen Crash in a theatre. It is a pretty strange movie/play. But I still want to see it again when it comes on TV.
Arash X

A strange movie with a very weird concept, Good work from the director and the cast
Candy R

Weird movie about people who get off on car crashes.
Drew S

Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Aaaand end movie! Seriously though, if there are two things Crash does right (and they are probably the only two things), they are that the movie is interesting at its core and the actors… More
Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Car crash. Sex. Aaaand end movie! Seriously though, if there are two things Crash does right (and they are probably the only two things), they are that the movie is interesting at its core and the actors do a splendid job keeping a straight face through the downright silly proceedings. Cronenberg attacks his subject with such rancorous, one-minded voracity that you grow numb to it halfway through the movie and develop a kind of humor cocoon past that. For what it's worth, the film didn't teach me a thing, even if it is an interesting subject. Humans are sexually depraved? Sure. Humans are so sexually oversaturated that they have to take their follies to a dangerous extreme to make them count? Yeah, okay. Tell me something new here, Cronenberg! I do wonder how the novel approached the subject - with absolutely no other concerns, like the movie? Or was there some attempt at a cohesive plot or characterization? Perhaps it had some concern about being incredibly repetitive, as is the big problem with this film. It is kind of funny that basically everyone in the movie has sex with each other, though. It's not that I'm immature about things like that, but seriously, the movie is unabashed pornography with a shoddy intellectual window-dressing. Even though calling this porn makes me feel awful conservative...well, I can't really say that the movie accomplished much else. ENDING SPOILERS: Two characters get in a car accident and have sex.
Dean M

This is the most controversial film I ever saw, bloody hot of the couples making high sex scenes in the car. Holly Hunter and Deborah Kara Unger make their fantastic performances with sex.
Jason S

This is one wacky flick. It's all about people who get off on car crashes. Crazy people fill this flick and the end makes you want to go shower to get the yuck off you.
Ken S

The direction in this film is flawless... Car crashes have never been so beautiful and oddly sexy.
Pierluigi P

honest, bizarre, perverse and yet thought-provoking soft-core thriller by the undisputable king of venereal-surgical horror.
danny d

terrible
Leigh R

It was a very odd film.
Michael G

I remember praying to God to make the movie end.