Crimes of the Future

Set in a future where a plague caused by cosmetic products has wiped out sexually mature women, Crimes of the Future follows Adrian Tripod, the director of a dermatological clinic called the House of Skin. Tripod was a disciple of Antoine Rouge, a dermatologist who identified the disease before apparently dying of it himself. With the clinic's patients gone, Tripod searches for his missing mentor and encounters various people and groups adapting to a world without women.

The film is David Cronenberg's first feature as director, and he also wrote and produced it. It runs just over an hour and was made in Canada through Emergent Films Ltd. Ronald Mlodzik plays Tripod. Cronenberg's next film was Shivers, released five years later. The film is a science-fiction comedy.

Reception has been modest. On IMDb it holds a rating of 4.7 from around 3,500 votes, and on TMDB a rating of 4.8 from roughly 122 votes. A film critics' rating of 6.1 from nine reviews places it somewhat higher with critics than with general audiences, though both measures suggest limited enthusiasm. These figures reflect a low-budget debut whose reputation rests mainly on its place at the start of Cronenberg's career rather than on broad popular success.