The Fly
The Fly
R | 15 August 1986 (USA)
The Fly Trailers

When Seth Brundle makes a huge scientific and technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and the two become one.

Reviews
djfrost-46786

This is a classic movie!!! Who comes up with this kind of stuff?!! Wish Hollywood would be as creative.

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christopherhodges-91529

One of the most mainstream David Cronenberg films the Fly is considered a cult classic today and rightly so- featuring a stunning turn by Jeff Goldblum and ably supported by Geena Davis(who were married back then) the Fly is a remake of an earlier film but is a massive improvement. The city of Toronto is as much a character as the people it features some stomach churning scenes. Kudos must go to the puppeteers and make up artists who do a stunning job.

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ranchelon

Short preface of (perhaps) important information: I am fairly young (born in 1998) but i have a passion for older horror films and i love watching them.I have not seen the original 1958 film.To give you a short summation of the story without spoilers. The Fly starts off in a science convention centre where brilliant scientists gather. Journalist Veronica is tasked with creating a scoop about the most interesting story she can find. She meets scientist Seth Brundle and asks about the project he's been working on. Seth takes her to his appartment and reveals he has been working on a teleportation device. The device is still a prototype and has difficulty with transporting meat or living beings.After some refinement Seth decides to try the machine out himself. While intoxicated, he decides to hop in the machine in order to see if the refined machine can transport humans. However, a fly manages to get into the teleporter alongside Seth. Seeing as the machine was unrefined, it gene spliced Seth's DNA with that of a fly. Seth ends up turning into a gross human/fly hybrid being. How that resolves, you have to see for yourself.One thing i admire about this film is it's pacing. I'm used to horror films being 2.5 hours long and the fact that this film is only 1.5 ours is realy refreshing. It cuts out all the longwinded and boring parts and makes you feel involved every step of the way.The make up and practical effects are extremely well done. It looks absolutely disgusting and i love it. The hairs, the swollen faces, the spit, the gore, everything looked great even by today's standards. I can't even begin to describe how glad i am that they didn't use CGI.The acting is great, there wasn't a single moment or line that felt out of place or unnatural and i was throughly entertained all the way through. It wasn't very scary but it was entertaining and disturbing and i loved it. A definate reccomendation for any fan of horror films.

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Screen_Blitz

David Cronenberg boasts a few top-notch tricks under his sleeve to pull off a reimagining of the 1958 original of the same name. For a director with an appealing pastiche of gruesome practical effects and ringing in an effectively grim atmosphere, Cronenberg crafts an astonishing rendition of a man who's human identity is slowly faded away by a scientific experiment gone horribly wrong. The Fly is not your standard horror picture boiled with vicious desires tingle with audiences' stomach with over-the-top gore and repulsiveness, it is one that carries a surprisingly gripping edge and journeys into an emotional territory that most horrors films hesitate to venture in. As disturbing and grotesque as it can get, it rarely pokes you with the feeling that Cronenberg believes that can filling the screen with stomach-turning gore is the only tool to leave you squirming in your seats. Of course, that is not to say it is a good idea to have lunch before sitting through this. This film places its focuses on eccentric scientist Seth Brundle (played by Jeff Goldblum) who hopes to revolutionize technology of his new teleportation machine, which he uses to grab the attention of a cute journalist Vanessa (played by Geena Davis). Determined to take his research one step further, Seth conducts an experiment where he steps into one of teleportation pods, unaware that a house fly has managed sneak into the other. Coming out the pod, Seth experiences bizarre and unsettling changes to his body as the fusion between him and the fly causes him to slowly morph into a hideous human-fly hybrid creature. David Cronenberg embraces his trademark grandeur of gruesome practical effects reminiscent to his previous works, and combines it with sharp precision of storytelling to conduct a brutally bleak horror tale that works in the fashion of a gripping human tragedy. Lead character Seth Brundle has met the love of his life and hopes to impress her with his outlandish research, but all goes wrong when a simple task leaves his man peeling away from the very identity that defines him. And if you think there is no room for an emotional human touch, think again, because Cronenberg places it at the heart of this bodily transformation plot. The story progresses with a menacing tone as the lead character watches as his body steadily deforms into a hideous figure complete with gritty-looking make-up and prosthetics while losing his limbs including his ears, and a sense of dread crowds the atmosphere as Seth sees his relationship with Vanessa deteriorating at the hands of his ugly bodily transformation that makes the Toxic Avenger look like a snuggle doll. And that is just part of how Cronenberg effectively breaths humanity into both Seth and Vanessa. It is an effective alternative element to the more common route of the monstrous villain hunting down victims and picking them of one by one. And this picture would not have worked as strongly without the performance by Jeff Goldblum who poses a convincing a normal human man morphing into less and less of a human. As for Geena Davis, there is no problem with giving her credit.The Fly is a gripping science-fiction horror picture bound with an astonishing human touch that renders the film drifting from your average horror movie conventions. Thanks to David Cronenberg, it works in more ways than what one might expect from an 80s gorefest. One thing is for sure though, it is definitely not for the faint of heart.

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