Film Details:
Directed by David Cronenberg (eXistenz, Videodrome, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, Spider)
Written by:
David Cronenberg (Rabid, Shivers, Videodrome)
George Langelaan (story) (Original The Fly)
Charles Edward Pogue (Dragonheart, Psycho III, D.O.A.)
Starring
Jeff Goldblum (Independence Day, Earth Girls are Easy, Jurassic Park)
Geena Davis (Beetlejuice, Earth Girls are Easy, Thelma & Louise)
John Getz (Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead)
Review: by Melissa (e-mail your faithful reviewer)
I consider this version of The Fly to be one of the great all-out creepy-icky horror films of all time, and I swear it gets better every time I see it. The script crackles with electricity, Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum have genuine chemistry, the concept is both plausible and outlandish, and every gross-out moment has an equal and opposite endearing moment. It's great drama, excellent sci-fi, and really visceral horror. It's Cronenberg at his best.
It also ain't for the squeamish. Or the pregnant.
The Fly, on the surface, is about a scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who builds the world's first teleportation machine. After becoming smitten with a reporter (Geena Davis) at a press party, he brings her home to show off his new top-secret project. While working together to document the birth of this revolutionary tool, the two fall in love.
There is only one problem: the machine can't teleport anything organic. It turns chimps inside out, and makes steak inedible.
The scientist eventually figures out the problem, gets drunk, and teleports himself one night. Thankfully, he is neither turned inside-out nor turned inedible. The experiment is seemingly successful… or so he thinks. What he doesn't notice is that a housefly was teleported with him, and his body was blended with the fly. Slowly, his body begins changing as his genetic makeup breaks down, and the movie glides steeply into the realm of pure horror.
The movie is really about one of Cronenberg's favorite obsessions, the very base horror of your body changing unexpectedly. It's about everyone's fear of disease and death. Cronenberg wisely keeps his camera focused on Goldblum, who, through all the makeup and Vaseline and other nastiness, manages to keep The Fly very human. When the camera isn't observing Goldblum's transformation, it is watching Geena Davis' horrified reaction to it. Both actors lend tremendous honesty and gravity to the film; if anything, they deserve as much praise as the director for making this film work so well.
Furthermore, the movie is truly remarkable for aging well. The makeup effects are flawless, even today, and the computer equipment doesn't even look very dated. Its theme of genetics-gone-awry, if anything, has become even more prescient as we move into the new century.
DVD Details:
