A repulsive, disgusting, wonderful movie from an era when horror movies had real heart and soul.

Rating: 10/10 (15 August 2018)

The Fly
The 1986 remake of The Fly by David Cronenberg is a prime example of 80's horror movie making at its very best.
Films like this and
John Carpenters The Thing (another remake) are types of movies that just aren't made anymore.
Sure there's plenty of the horror genre that make it on to the big screen but today we live in a world of CGI. Nothing onscreen seems to have the texture or the tactility that makes the audience believe that they could reach out and touch what is onscreen.
The Fly tells the story of Seth Brundle played superbly by Jeff Goldblum. A brilliant scientist who's on the brink of one of humankind's greatest accomplishments.
He has figured out how to teleport matter from one space to another. This would change the worlds concept of travel forever.
By using two phone booth like devices known as telepods he is able to shift an object from one pod to the other.
Brundle is struggling with the teleportation of living matter.
A gory scene involving a baboon demonstrates this.
With the aid of Journalist Veronica played by Geena Davis who documents Brundles progress they eventually make a break through.
What follows isn't just a chilling yet repulsive horror thriller but a movie that is deeply character driven.
An inspired choice was to cast Goldblum in the lead role.
His superb range allows him to create and develop certain traits as his anatomy and humanity begins to change.
A man desperate for his creation to be a success Goldblum's character impatiently decides to go through the teleportation process only to unknowingly have a common house fly go along with him for the trip.
Their DNA is spliced together on a equal molecular level which goes on to create something new entirely.
"Be afraid! Be very afraid!"
This brings me to points raised earlier. What follows is the journey of man who goes from being human to something unknown to Science and nature.
Not man, not Fly! A monster that will hurt you if you stay!
This is achieved not through computer generated imagery but through practical effects.
Prosthetics and animatronics.
The ooze is real. The props are real. There's no CGI blood here thank you very much!
This is a film that sticks to your skin making it crawl as you witness Brundles transformation.
Both Goldblum and Davis are brilliant together. Their onscreen chemistry making you care for them. This makes Brundles demise all the more painful.
I first watched The Fly when I was a young kid. I remember being terrified by it and by all rights I should not have watched it at such a young age.
Revisiting this movie as a forty two year old, I was prepared to be disappointed.
Absolutely not! This movie stands the test of time because it is a great film.
Just as Jaws isn't marred by its forty year old special effects. That film is much more than just a rubber shark.
The Fly is much the same.
It is brilliant because of Goldblum and Davis's performances, Cronenberg's direction and Howard Shores haunting score.
Not to mention those gooey, gory repulsive practical effects.
The Fly is a movie you should watch, a movie from an era when the horror genre had real heart and soul.