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The Fly

(David Cronenberg)




Why have I been putting off Cronenberg's The Fly? Maybe I thought it was a little too goofy, not scary or the fact that The Simpsons parodied it enough for me to think I saw it, but I never bothered. Huge regret, as this is one slick body horror flick from the master of the genre. Cronenberg delivers a cringe worthy horror flick that will make your skin crawl. Kudos for his wild imagination in the human transformation to creature feature.

Seth Brundle has created a revolutionary machine that can transport one item from a pod, directly to the other. Telepods he calls them and he's really excited to show the beautiful Veronica, not knowing she is a journalist looking for her next story. They finally come to an agreement that she will document everything leading up to the first human experiment. Brundle plans on using himself as the test subject and things do not go according to plan.

I knew Cronenberg was into body horror, but I guess I underestimated the amount of fun I would have watching Goldblum slowly transform into a grotesque creature, aka Brundlefly. The Fly has some really unique humour that fits perfectly in with the bizarre subject matter. The special effects are hilarious, in a good way. I think the slick computer driven effects of today would ruin the authenticity of such a transformation. Goldblum sells every moment of it.

I didn't buy into the relationship aspect of Davis and Goldblum, it felt too rushed and didn't develop naturally. It needed to be more concrete if they wanted me to believe that she would get near him again when he looked like a monster. Yet, the overall experience of this film is extremely positive and yes, can be considered a horror classic.