David Cronenberg as moved from the depths of low-budget exploitation horror to become one of North America's most respected movie directors. Since the early 1970s, the soft-spoken 'Baron of Blood' has attracted widespread controversies with a steady stream of shocks - sec-crazed parasites in (1975), exploding heads in (1981), revolutionary flesh technology in (1983), mutating bugs in (1986), car crash scars in (1996), and psychopathic bursts of gunfire in (2005). This new study provides an overview of Cronenberg's films in the light of their international reception, placing them firmly in the cultures they influenced. It also highlights often-ignored works, such as the race movie (1979), and includes a chapter on the latest film (2007). Amidst bans and boos, Cronenberg has developed a consistent cult following for his chronicles of humankind's struggle with its ever-changing environment, bugged by technology and changing social roles - becoming a hero of contemporary culture.