Director: David Cronenberg
Initial Release Country: United States
Times Previously Seen: around 5 or 6 (last time probably 20 years ago)
Rapid-Fire Summary:
At a science convention, an eager young
journalist, Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) meets an eccentric and
enthusiastic man named Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum). Brundle swears
to Veronica that he is sitting on the invention that will change
human history. Though skeptical at first, Veronica is curious enough
to follow Brundle to his warehouse laboratory and finds that he has
created telepods – mechanical devices that can transport matter
instantaneously from one location to another. The only problem is
that it can only work on inorganic objects. Brundle proclaims,
though, that he will work this out soon enough.
Over the next few weeks and months,
Veronica chronicles Brundle's attempts to solve the “organic
matter” problem, and begins a romantic relationship with the quirky
yet charming genius. He eventually figures out how to transport
organic matter, though he waits before attempting it on a human. One
night, however, in a drunken fit of daring, Brundle steps into the
pod and successfully transports himself. What he doesn't know,
though, is that a housefly has flown into the pod at the same time,
and that they have both been fused on a genetic level.
As the next few days and weeks unfold,
Brundle begins to undergo and gradual yet steady transformation. At
first, he shows phenomenal strength and energy levels. Eventually,
though his skin starts to change and he begins to exhibit territorial
and violent tendencies. Brundle discovers the truth about how he and
the fly are now becoming some sort of mutated hybrid of each other,
and tries to discover some way to stop it. His efforts fail, however,
and he continues his horrifying metamorphosis.
Dr. Seth Brundle, next to his greatest invention, and the very thing that will spell his grisly doom.
Making matters even more terrifying is
the fact that Veronica discovers that she is pregnant with Seth's
baby. While she had previously been attempting to help Seth find a
cure, she has had to flee from his increasingly brutal and warped
nature. When she goes to have an abortion of their child, Seth
abducts her from the hospital and brings her to his lab. The
now-barely recognizable Brundle hopes to enact a mad plan by which he
will transport and fuse himself, Veronica, and their unborn child
into one creature. Brundle almost succeeds, if not for Veronica's
past lover and current editor, who fends off Brundle long enough for
Veronica to escape.
In the end, a mishap with the telepods
leaves the Brundle/fly creature fused with part of the pod. The
creature claws its way to Veronica and begs for the mercy of death,
which Veronica grants by shooting it.
My Take (Done after this most recent
viewing):
This movie still packs every bit of
punch that it had 26 years ago.
The Fly is as horrifying as it is
compelling. I'm not any kind of horror film buff, but I'll take one
in every once in a while. From what I have seen in the decades since
David Cronenberg's science-fiction horror show, I can't think of
another film that is as powerfully hypnotic and terrifying.
As stated at the end of my last review,
I remember watching this movie many times when it was available on
VHS, back when I was 12 and 13 years old. I was certainly freaked out
by it back then, and I'm pretty sure that I'll have a few nightmares
after this most recent viewing as well. As a kid, I was enthralled by
the special effects that transformed Jeff Goldblum into the titular
creature. These were, of course, the very things that brought The Fly
to popular consciousness back in 1986. To this day, they hold up
amazingly well, and they illicit the same visceral reaction now that
they always have and always will.
This montage shows the stomach-turning devolution of Dr. Brundle. Watching it unfold throughout the film is part of the macabre magnetism.
The visuals, though, tell only a part
of what makes this movie so powerful. Primarily, it is that, right up
to the end, you care about the people involved. This includes,
surprisingly, the monster that Dr. Brundle becomes. In the early
going, we quickly see that he is quirky, brilliant, and oddly
charismatic. The love that develops between him and Veronica feels
very genuine. This is what makes his slow and terrible transformation
and destruction so tragic.
The character of Veronica amplifies
this even more. Through the entire macabre affair, she tries to help
Brundle, even towards the end, when virtually nothing of the man that
she loves is left. Arguably the most powerful scene is the final one.
As the Brundle creature emerges from the telepod, now an utterly
grotesque fusion of the man, the fly, and hulking parts of an
inanimate telepod, the tale does not go the traditional horror movie
route. In nearly all horror films, the monster makes a final lunge at
the fleeing humans, only to be killed in self defense. In The Fly,
instead, the monster crawls up to Veronica and makes a final plea for
the release of death by gently drawing the shotgun to its own head.
This shows that there is some final shred of humanity, if only in the
form of self-pity, left inside of it. It is a pathetic emotion, but
one that inspires just enough compassion to give the tale its final
cruel and tragic twist.
A less obvious theme in the film is
that of primal, animal attraction. In the beginning stages of
Brundle's transformation, when he still appears to be human, he shows
phenomenally enhanced strength and drive. One just has to look at the
faces of Veronica and Tawny during these stages to see how attracted
they are to his seeming virility, while at the same time being
slightly afraid. These are two very basic, very tightly interwoven
compulsions in humans, whether we want to admit it or not. It is also
these same two aspects that Cronenberg explored more overtly in A History of Violence.
Through most of the movie, including most of his repulsive metamorphosis, Goldblum makes Seth Brundle a far more sympathetic character than you might expect.
The storytelling is incredibly tight.
Even though there were plenty of the quieter, more interpersonal
scenes that I had forgotten from my childhood viewings, the movie
never slows down. Right from the opening scenes, we get caught up in
the wonder of discovery and the potential for what Dr. Brundle has
created. We then get the thrill of watching him improve and develop
his invention so that it can transport organic matter. Once he
teleports himself, not knowing that the fly has been fused with him,
it's almost impossible to stop watching. Especially if you haven't
seen the movie before, waiting to find out just how far Brundle's
physical appearance will deteriorate is a bizarre magnet, pulling us
along.
The performances certainly enhance, if
not necessarily make, the movie. Geena Davis does a fine job
expressing the compassion, disgust, and revulsion that the part
requires. More than her, though, is Jeff Goldblum. Once you see this
movie, it is no mystery as to why he has been typecast as “the
creepy yet charismatic scientist” in no less than a half dozen
films. In The Fly, Goldblum exhibited probably the widest range of
his acting life, going from the shy, witty, brilliant innovator to
the brute creature, while retaining an oddly charming gallows humor
through nearly the entire gut-wrenching affair. It was a feat that
few actors could have pulled off.
The Fly is one of those films that is
powerful in so many different ways that I can see why it is
considered “great”. That being said, it is disturbing and
grotesque enough that I can't see myself watching it again for at
least a very long time. Fortunately, though, it is a film that
imprints itself so strongly in one's mind, that watching it twice in
a short time is an effort in redundancy.
That's a wrap. 84 shows down. 21 to go.
Coming Soon: The Singing Detective
(1986):
Please be sure to pick up all empties on
the way out.
