Absolutely chilling

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2008)

I did not like or enjoy this film one bit, but Lord help me it does deserve 8 stars simply for the fact that it does what it's supposed to do so wonderfully well. The point of The Fly is, mainly, to disgust the viewer. It does this brilliantly, and be warned, it is extremely full on. When that line goes 'Be afraid, be very afraid,' it ain't kidding! This movie doesn't so much horrify as bash you over the head with out-and-out revulsion in the shape of an overambitious scientist who turns into a giant fly due to a horrible teleportation mishap. OK spoilers ahoy. Seth Brundle (played marvelously well by Jeff Goldblum) invents a device for transporting matter from one place to another. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts (including an inside-out baboon - animal lovers be warned) Brundle finally reaches his target and transports himself. Unfortunately for him (OK - VERY unfortunately) a housefly happens to be caught up in the process as well, and when Brundle's body starts to change, he realizes that something has gone terribly wrong... Agreed, some aspects of this film seem horribly dated. The giant, rampant, poodle-permed hairstyles of both Goldblum and love interest Gina Davis that quiver with earnest indignation throughout the film. Brundle's naff 80's style lab. His fridge-freezer sized, back-talking computer (who's smart-Alecy ability to lecture it's creator seems far-fetched even by today's technological age!). Still, the overall premise of this film is completely chilling. Cronenburg's theme of mutation and illness is brought to the fore in stunning form - it is genuinely heartbreaking to witness Brundle's transformation from a good-looking (sorry, but I've always had the hots for Jeff Goldblum) and ambitious man to a repulsive freak. He gradually loses his mind as his condition becomes worse, and almost commits a heinous crime at the end of the movie. However, despite his madness and physical transformation he still retains his basic humanity, evident in his ragged 'human' breathing in the final phase of his hideous transformation, as well as his desire *MAJOR SPOILERS* for his girlfriend to kill him as he realizes the monster he has become. When I first saw Brundle's horrible, mutated paw holding that gun barrel to his horrible, mutated head I sobbed and sobbed. This is a true horror film - repulsive, unsettling, shocking - with a salient point at its core. Not for the weak-hearted.