“Naked Lunch” is certainly one of the weirdest films I’ve ever seen. It’s sort of like “Total Recall” but a lot more disgusting and way more convoluted. I don’t really know whether this film from David Cronenberg (“Videodrome”), which serves as a sort of biography of author William S. Burroughs, is good or not but I’ll go with good because I like its style.

Set in the 1950s, “Naked Lunch” is about an exterminator by the name of William Lee (Peter Weller “RoboCop”, “Screamers”) and he’s addicting to ‘bug powder’. It is the very stuff he’s meant to use to kill insects. After accidentally shooting his wife, he finds himself involved in a conspiracy orchestrated by giant bugs in a place called ‘Interzone’ in North Africa.

William Lee is basically meant to be William S. Burroughs and from what I hear, a lot of the stuff here is taken from his actual life. Burroughs was an exterminator, he accidentally shot his wife, he was a drug addict and he did spend time in North Africa. Peter Weller plays the role well; you can totally see that this guy is out of it as he seems to look truly lifeless even when he encounters giant talking bugs. The giant talking bugs look disgusting and they communicate using their area for waste disposal making them even more disgusting, I suppose it works because bugs are disgusting. The way some are half-typewriters is definitely original and all-round, there has been some great efforts by the special effects and costume departments.

I didn’t really care for the film’s ending and I thought the scenes that dealt with sexual preferences seemed to distract a little from the other aspects of the film but apparently, they reflect Burroughs’ life. It’s a film that works whether you’re viewing the strange events as real or merely in the mind, this makes it just like “The Shining”. I like the 1950s style, I like the creativity of the creatures, the score is terrific, I think Peter Weller is great but I was left a little disappointed by what it all amounts to.