Spooky and Intense -- One of Cronenberg's Best

Rating: 8/10 (7 May 2008)

Deeply unsettling David Cronenberg remake of the sci-fi chiller about a scientist playing around with genetic experimentation who accidentally mixes his DNA in with that of a house fly. The slow deterioration of his body as he turns into a mutated monster gives the makeup and special effects artists for this film free reign to create all manner of gruesome and frightening images. Jeff Goldblum, as the scientist, gives perhaps the best performance of his career. As an actor, he's always a bit off-kilter, so he's a natural fit as a mad genius. Geena Davis, as his love interest, does terrific work too, and delivers a performance that's something more than the standard issue work you might expect in a movie like this.
Though the film is full of scary moments, perhaps the scariest is when Golblum's scientist character calmly asks Davis's character to leave his apartment because he's afraid he will hurt her if she stays.
Grade: A