David Cronenberg wants you to put this creature in your brain

David Cronenberg’s latest project isn’t a film, but a brain implant. It’s called the the Pod recommendation engine, short for “personal-on-demand,” and according to the video, it represents “an unprecedented leap forward in human improvement technology.” Also, it’s alive.

The video comes from an ambitious transmedia project that director Lance Weiler has been teasing since April. Cronenberg is just an actor on the project, but the Pod’s capabilities draw heavily from the mind-bending horrors of his early works like Scanners and Videodrome. The plot centers on the Pod, a living brain symbiote that’s pitched as “a truly unique lifeform” designed to guide consumers to the ideal product recommendations for them. As Cronenberg ominously suggests in the video, “Physical and intellectual symbiosis with Pod will improve your life in unexpected ways.” As Cronenberg vets might expect, not all of those ways are pretty.

Curious parties are encouraged to sign up through Body/Mind/Change. Once the project is ready, users will be led through an extensive training video starring Cronenberg, where they’ll train their Pod, follow different plot lines, and end up with a physical Pod device shaped by their choices. The full work will go on display in January as part of the Toronto International Film Festival’s David Cronenberg: Evolution exhibit, where users will be able to pick up their finished symbiotes.