David Cronenberg's NSFW Trailer: 'Consumed'

David Cronenberg's NSFW Trailer for Upcoming Novel 'Consumed' Oozes of Macabre and Freud

by Shipra Gupta 

David Cronenberg's debut novel, "Consumed," isn't due out until later this year. Nevertheless, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Cronenberg shot a two minute teaser for the novel and uploaded it to YouTube with very little fanfare -- especially considering his penchant for experimental narrative and the modern-day macabre.

In it's abbreviated description of the book, Simon and Schuster describes "Consumed" as: "The exhilarating debut novel by iconic filmmaker David Cronenberg: the story of two journalists whose entanglement in a French philosopher's death becomes a surreal journey into global conspiracy."

Alluding to the layers of mystery and intrigue in Cronenberg's novel does not provide the context for the scene in the trailer, which begins in medias res. Shot from the point-of-view of a certain Dr. Molnar, the scene consists of his discussion between Dr. Molnar and an unidentified female patient who is asking to have her breasts removed because she wants to get rid of the insects inside her. Dr. Molnar is, at once, reticent and curious. "I'm happy to remove your breasts," he says, "It's just that...I'm not sure how to handle the insects." The deliberate use of Dr. Molnar's point-of-view and the explicit conversation about breast removal certainly reek of Freud.

By now you're probably thinking that we are talking about an entirely different novel. In fact, we aren't.

This is where Simon and Schuster's extended synopsis of the book's premise might come in handy because the scene between Dr. Molnar and this woman are part of a much more expansive story. Read the extended synopsis and watch full trailer below:

Stylish and camera-obsessed, Naomi and Nathan thrive on the yellow journalism of the social-media age. They are lovers and competitors—nomadic freelancers in pursuit of sensation and depravity, encountering each other only in airport hotels and browser windows.
Naomi finds herself drawn to the headlines surrounding Celestine and Aristide Arosteguy, Marxist philosophers and sexual libertines. Celestine has been found dead and mutilated in her Paris apartment. Aristide has disappeared. Police suspect him of killing her and consuming parts of her body. With the help of an eccentric graduate student named Herve Blomqvist, Naomi sets off in pursuit of Aristide. As she delves deeper into Celestine and Aristide's lives, disturbing details emerge about their sex life—which included trysts with Herve and others. Can Naomi trust Herve to help her?
Nathan, meanwhile, is in Budapest photographing the controversial work of an unlicensed surgeon named Zoltán Molnar, once sought by Interpol for organ trafficking. After sleeping with one of Molnar’s patients, Nathan contracts a rare STD called Roiphe’s. Nathan then travels to Toronto, determined to meet the man who discovered the syndrome. Dr. Barry Roiphe, Nathan learns, now studies his own adult daughter, whose bizarre behavior masks a devastating secret.
These parallel narratives become entwined in a gripping, dreamlike plot that involves geopolitics, 3-D printing, North Korea, the Cannes Film Festival, cancer, and, in an incredible number of varieties, sex. "Consumed" is an exuberant, provocative debut novel from one of the world’s leading film directors.