Before he won acclaim for arthouse fare like A History of Violence and A Dangerous Method, David Cronenberg was famous for more visceral examinations of the relationship between the human psyche and body. And for good old-fashioned blood and guts! His latest work, the short film The Nest — in which he provides the offscreen voice for a doctor meeting a most unusual patient — doesn’t offer up much for gorehounds, but it’s still a nicely effective return to the master’s disturbing early work. (They didn’t call him Dave “Depraved” Cronenberg in the ’70s for nothing.) Since it’s most certainly not safe for work, it’s also perfect for viewing on a three-day holiday weekend. You can watch The Nest below. Beware: It’s Cronenberg so it’s NSFW.

Amsterdam’s EYE Film Institute funded the above bit of freakiness, which stars Evelyne Brochu as the troubled patient… Before he began his career as a filmmaker, Cronenberg had a keen interest in science and considered a degree in medicine. In fact, his earliest film, the experimental short Stereo, takes the form of a science research project. He’s even played doctors on screen, in everything from The Fly (where he’s the gynecologist who delivers Geena Davis’ insect baby in the film’s dream sequence) to Clive Barker’s Nightbreed (in which he’s Craig Sheffer’s notorious psychiatrist, Dr. Philip K. Decker). So it’s nice to see him go back to his roots in more ways than one in The Nest. Hopefully another feature-length full-on horror flick from Mr. C won’t be too long in coming. Until then, to quote James Woods in Cronenberg’s Videodrome, “Long live the new flesh!”