The new film by David Cronenberg, Crimes of the Future, cuts deep: both figuratively and literally. Figuratively, by way of the many philosophically penetrating questions that the writer-director poses. Literally, with the numerous open chest surgeries that are displayed in the film. In Cronenberg’s world, where else would you look for the answers to where humanity is headed than inside our very selves?

Crimes of the Future is, indeed, set in the future. One in which humans evolved past the point of feeling any physical pain. Some even live off of plastic. With such biological advancements, it’s become vogue to experiment with bodies. Physical mutilation is akin to avant-garde art. As its cosmopolitan crowd believes, “Surgery is the new sex.”

Celebrity performance artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) and his partner, Caprice (Léa Seydoux) are at the center of this new art world. What’s special about Tenser–and why he’s beloved by the art world–is that he’s evolved past the rest of humanity. Tenser’s able to grow new organs. For their renowned performances, Caprice remotely controls the blades that slice and dice him up, and raises his organs overhead like magic acts, to rapturous applause. The performances take their toll on him, though. The cough-addled and wheezing Tenser is constantly sustained by Cronenbergian humanoid tubes to re-nourish his fragile body.

It’s clearly a wild premise. Those who are familiar with Cronenberg and his singular brand of body horror know that he grounds the grotesque within a very satirical setting, so as to make the whole thing more palatable. Here, the ridiculous pomp of the art world and their laughable collective comic awe offsets the very stark display of public surgeries. The adoring public constantly stops Tenser, who slunks into rooms like Kylo Ren, probing him for details about his “new work,” and his “next show.” Kristen Stewart also gets in on the fun here. She provides a faint joy as a national organ registrar, whose professional duties give way once she becomes similarly enraptured by Tenser and his charismatic effect.

The tongue-in-cheek comedy is quite clear. However, Crimes of the Future moves into even darker ground. A mysterious person’s (Scott Speedman) arrival also brings to light the existence of a young boy, whose unique biological makeup is similar to that of Tenser’s. These highly evolved people–with “accelerated evolution syndrome”–are actually in more danger than they realize. If you can feel no pain and live off of plastic alone, are you even “human” at all? And what steps would society take to keep them from taking over? In the film’s most unsettling scene, Tenser and Caprice put the young boy at the center of their surgical show (a scene that prompted multiple walkouts at Cannes).

If you haven’t seen any films by David Cronenberg before, Crimes of the Future is certainly an interesting place to start. It’s his first return to the body horror genre in a long time. You’ll quickly see the director’s trademarks: human organs, the fringe groups that must overcome conspiracy theories (here, called “The Cause”), and a controlling presence.

For those who are familiar with Cronenberg’s films, Crimes of the Future is a fun reminder of what’s made him so beloved. While the film poses interesting questions, it’s not his finest work. His tools are at their most blunt and obvious when he so deliberately forces the questions of art, celebrity, pain, and what the future holds. But subtlety isn’t his thing. Cronenberg does continue to master the sci-fi genre, using it to frame questions that we all should be asking. He just chooses to use a scalpel that’s a little showier.

1h 47m. ‘Crimes of the Future’ is rated R for strong disturbing violent content and grisly images, graphic nudity, and some language.