I've plenty of good buzz for this film.

Rating: 7/10 (1 September 2008)

With The Fly, we have a film about experimentation; about updating; about taking science and experiments to a whole new level  a film about modernity and the transforming of the old into the new. But the manner of which these ideas and experiments are transpired relies quite heavily on an item of nature: a fly. The Fly by David Cronenberg is a film about the fusion and transport of different matter  ironic then how the film itself is a fusion of genres and is indeed a remake or 'updating' of an old film from the latter years of Hollywood's Classical era. Its themes and ideas of experimentation and one man's greed, in a way, to succeed over everyone else is an interesting point for study.
The Fly does not hang around, opening at a large gala in which science recluse Seth Brundle (Goldblum) is out and about amongst many other people which is a rarity for the film and is perhaps a rarity for the character even before these events transpire. Seth is working on something big but he isn't ready to go public just yet as some of the more technical issues (such as seeing if it actually works) are not tried and tested, but they will be in all their cinematic glory.
I think Cronenberg realises that the film is less so a piece of entertainment and more so a study of a decent into madness and depression through loneliness even though its individual is an actual fly for that period. But the film falls into the genres of horror and science-fiction; two genres that you would commonly associate with entertainment or escapism as film in these genres usually enter the realm of the uncanny or the fantastical. Not in The Fly and never does Cronenberg really come across as someone who wants to make a film about a guy who becomes a giant bug and cause damage, indeed his mindset and attitude is to stay at home and welcome the odd visit from female reporter who he met at the opening gala, Veronica Quaife (Davis).
Then again just because the film does not go out and out to give you thrills and kicks, that's not to say it isn't entertaining anyway. The Fly is a fascinating little film but it never veers too far over into the pretentious or even further into the 'shock' realm. Yes, it's nasty and its special effects are pretty gruesome and the overall character mindset of Brundle once he becomes devoured by this fly's attributes and appearance are somewhat shocking but it is not a deliberate attempt to raise eyebrows in the sense The Evil Dead might've done with its high content of violence or Caligula with its high content of nudity.
As a director shooting a piece, The Fly has several hallmarks of just genuinely good direction. The film can rack up the suspense; draw us into looking away from the screen even though there is nothing really there to be afraid of and yet every time Veronica pays a visit to Seth, we want her to make contact; talk for a short while and then leave whilst getting as far away as possible and that's because the film creates such an unnerving atmosphere as Seth descends more and more into his transformation. There is also the scene in which the transformation(s) are finally revealed, whatever they may be of, and the smoke that creeps out of the transporter ala mist over graveyards in horror films of old, thus delaying our seeing the results of the transformation and the tension is racked up.
But Cronenberg isn't afraid of including the odd scene nearer the beginning to do with animal cruelty and nor is he afraid to have his lead character tear off his own flesh and pop his own fingernails. But these scenes exist not purely to gross the audience out but are included to inform the viewer of Seth's continuous decline into physical change. The smart thing here being that while Seth comes across as slightly eccentric and perhaps a bit of a loner in the opening scenes, his transformation from 'normal' to 'abnormal' is not necessarily a psychological one as a result of isolation and more so a physical one as a result of his own quest for personal glory to do with his work. It doesn't help that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time, either.
But The Fly retains an atmosphere of horror throughout, aided by some nasty dream sequences in which Cronenberg himself gets to deliver a lava. The progression of Goldblum's physical change is the highlight here with any love interest or love triangle utilised to form the basis of the third act but there is no real problem with that here. The Fly will entertain and somewhat shock without ever truly feeling like that's what it set out to do in a guilty and unconstructive way initially. Ultimately, the film is a tragedy but it is one that takes down a sci-fi and horror infested route which isn't often the case in those respective genres.