Canadian director David Cronenberg remakes the original 1958 Vincent Price semi-classic film and warns all audiences to "Be afraid...be very afraid." This film was followed by a supposedly lame sequel, FLY II, starring the omnipresent Eric Stoltz, and directed by the man who won the "Best Makeup" Oscar for this film, Chris Walas.
PLOT: Cooky & brainy scientist invents a method of teleportation, wherein a human being could be transported from one place to another in a matter of seconds. While testing his own invention, el geeko scientist does not notice the presence of an insect in his transportation pod, and soon finds himself fusing into an amalgamate of two living creatures. Geena Davis plays the roving reporter who begins to follow the story on the grounds of historical posterity, but ultimately maintains her interest by the strength of her love.
CRITIQUE: Creepy, moody, and downright gory science-fiction horror flic that generates many moments of utter disgust, revulsion, pleasure and sympathy. This film was wonderfully stylized by Cronenberg, with a true feel for the life of this poor soul, and the solitude that roomed with his extreme intelligence. Goldblum seems to have finally found a place for his stammering acting bit, and works wonderfully as the goofy, and wildly intelligent, scientist with a plan. He brings caring to the character, and allows you to give a crap about his future.
This film does actually contain a few extremely graphic scenes of ickiness (which Mrs. JoBlo could've done without), and worked as a complete slithering piece of pulp-sci-fiction. Many horror and science-fiction movies have a tendency to overplay their fiction, while dismissing the reality check that audiences look for in a credible film. But this film moves along at a decent pace, always keeps you informed on what and why everything is going on, and eventually turns into a wild make-up fest that truly does make you feel and sympathize with the Goldblum character (The horror, the horror!!).
Having said that, if nachos are your game for this one, I suggest you salsa down during the first thirty minutes or so, because soon thereafter, many of the gory scenes make their move. All in all, this film does still manage to creep you out after all these years, with kudos going out to Cronenberg's grisly mood setting, Goldblum's kickass performance, the incredible makeup job and the solid plotline that makes us all want to believe in this unbelievable scenario set forth by this man.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Director Cronenberg has a small cameo in this film as the gynecologist who delivers a "baby". He also had a small cameo as the "man at the lake" in Gus Van Sant's TO DIE FOR (6.5/10) starring the ever-white Nicole Kidman. He has frequent references to ``the flesh'' in his films, and often uses explicit carnage. This film won an Academy Award for "Best Makeup" at the 1987 Oscar ceremonies. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis met on the set of this film, and fell in love. They got married in 1987, and got divorced in 1990. Jeff stands 6'4 and his middle name is Lynn. Geena stands 6', her real name is Virginia Davis, she speaks Swedish and is a proud member of MENSA (Private club gathering smart people with extremely high IQ's.) Ex-boxer George Chuvalo has a small part as the arm wrestler Marky in the bar.
By : Berge Garabedian
Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup
Rating: 0
If "The Dead Zone" opened up a new area of concern for Cronenberg, then "The Fly" confirmed, not that it should have needed confirming, that he is much more than just a gore merchant. The love story that is on the margins of "Dead Zone" is placed centre stage in "The Fly", which is surely one of the most moving love stories ever made. It is the ultimate riposte to the banalities of Hollywood romantic trash, notably "Love Story" in which, you will remember, the heroine dies of an incurable disease, but does it very prettily and quietly.
The plot of the film is incredibly simple - Seth Brundle, a scientist, invents a new process to transport matter from one place to another in a matter of seconds. After a row with his girlfriend, he decides to try the process for himself, and is successful, with one big reservation. A fly has penetrated the teleport, and the scientist has now become "Brundlefly" as the computer so matter-of-factly puts it. He gradually disintegrates, becoming first a man-fly hybrid and, ultimately, more fly than man. HIs girlfriend is initially fascinated, not least by his new status as a sexual athlete, but subsequently becomes disgusted, and finally pitying. Brundle, on the other hand, retains his love for the woman who is rejecting him, and relies on her to deliver the coup-de-grace at the end, when the transformation is complete.
"The Fly" has been called a metaphor for AIDS, something which Cronenberg has always been very keen to reject. In truth, there is nothing very AIDS-like about Brundle's problem. What the film is undeniably about, however, is the experience of changing from one's normal state into something different - be it from cancer or simply from ageing. The patient seems to accomodate themselves fairly quickly to their new state - Brundle even keeps a video record of his disintegration, and catalogues the bits that fall off him, keeping them in the bathroom cabinet. The problem comes for the people around him who cannot accept the change, and want him back the way he was. What the film conveys very well is the idea of having someone you love change beyond all recognition.
Geena Davis is very good at disgust, and very sharp and funny in the early sections. She even pulls off the difficult final scene, when she has to put Brundlefly out of his misery. The problem is in the structure of the film; she does not seem committed enough to Brundle and their relationship has not been going for long enough before the changes begin. The film would have been more effective if they had been having a relationship for a more considerable period of time. Incidentally, the same problem occurs yet again in "Dead Ringers", but that's another story.
The strength of "The Fly", however, lies in its essential honesty. Disease, particularly a fatal disease, is horrible, it's messy and unpleasant. The film doesn't duck the nastier side of the transformation; the new method of eating is a show-stopping sequence, especially when it is later applied to a cartoon baddie, played by John Getz. What helps a lot is Jeff Goldblum's incredible performance. He gets over two important things; the self disgust at the change, and the scientist's fascination at what is, after all, a unique situation. He's also capable of unexpected anger, when he tells his Davis to leave before he hurts her. It's a great performance, one of the best in any of Cronenberg's films.
The effects, design and make-up are beyond criticism - the acid test for this is the final scene in the film. Brundlefly, having turned malevolent, wants to combine himself with Davis to create an eternal union. Saved at the last moment, Davis escapes and Brundlefly only combines himself with the teleporter. Dragging himself out of the machine at the end, the creature picks up the end of a shotgun and points it at his head. It sounds stupid, but on film it is incredibly powerful. The look that the creature gives Davis at the end is heartbreaking, which is perhaps the highest compliment I can pay the effects team. It's in the great tradition of the tragic monster, which goes right back to "King Kong".
Interesting that, in several of Cronenberg's films, the hero goes to his death willingly at the end - even if it isn't suicide, it's a blissful escape from a life which has become intolerable. Cronenberg seems to genuinely believe in the idea of the final redemption through sacrifice; part of his romantic spirit, I suppose. It's a device which works well in his films, largely because he plays it straight. There is no camp in these films - camp being one of the major problems in "eXistenZ". The emotions are for real, and the most important emotion in "The Fly" and, even more so, in "Dead Ringers", is love. At the end of "Dead Ringers", we can only really feel despair, but there is a sort of hope at the end of both "The Fly" and "The Dead Zone". In both, the hero dies, but there is also a final reconciliation with the loved one that suggests, at least, some sort of closure.
Is "The Fly" an anti-science film ? I only raise the question because I've read critics who argue that it is, but I'm not so sure. The problems are caused by user-error, not by the computer, which only does as it is supposed to. I'm not sure that science really comes into it in "The Fly", because it has the structure of a classical tragedy - the hero is brought down by one small mistake which then snowballs into his destruction. Science is the enabler of the tragedy, but not the sole cause of it.
"The Fly" was a huge hit with audiences, many of whom seem to have misinterpreted it as a gore-fest. It's not that simple; yes, it's gory, but the gore is completely central to the story, rather as it is in Carpenter's "The Thing", a film with which this shares little, except an awareness of the vulnerability of the human body. In an interview, Cronenberg said something very penetrating about this central theme, one which recurs in many of his films. He talked about the AIDS epidemic, and asked the interviewer to try to see it from the point of view of the virus. For human beings, it's a crisis, but for the virus, which is, after all, a living creature, it's like Christmas and birthdays all rolled into one. It seems to me that this is very illuminating, both as an observation, and also as a footnote to Cronenberg's attitude to horror.
Ultimately though, what makes "The Fly" special is that it has genuine concern for the problems of the human heart, and acknowledges that while love may not conquer all, it can at least make an imprint upon those it touches that they can never forget. Having said that, it also accepts that in real life, love doesn't always work out, and that, for some, this failure can be more than they can bear. Indeed, the theme of the failure of love to work out is central to his next, and best, film "Dead Ringers".
