Cronenberg's masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2016)

One of the genre's most famous taglines ("Be afraid...be very afraid") adorns David Cronenberg's masterpiece of psychological and physical horror, in turns surprisingly gory and surprisingly intelligent, yet sorely underrated by audiences at the time. Cronenberg had already made a name for himself by the time this was released, for his above average horror films like VIDEODROME, all of course as controversial as CRASH was ten years later.
This isn't just another run-of-the-mill gut churner, however; it's much, much more. In parts a tragic love story and with a vicious streak of black humour, THE FLY actually turned out to be a remake which was better than the original film, which was no mean feat when 1957's THE FLY was a classic sci-fi horror flick boasting star names like Vincent Price. Thankfully, everything about Cronenberg's film works, from the fine acting to the gruesome special effects, but these are just icing on the cake. The real genius lies in the decision to have Brundle slowly disintegrate into a fly, instead of a straight conversion in the matter transporter. The idea that the fusion takes place as a mysterious, horrible, cancer-like illness is much more sickening, chilling and believable than the straight forward man with rubber fly head shown thirty years earlier.
Not many actors could have convincingly pulled off such a complex role, but Jeff Goldblum succeeds admirably in what I feel to be his finest role ever. Goldblum plays his typically weird but likable character, yet convinces us with his stunning realisation that he is becoming something other than man - at first hyperactive and excited, then horrified, and finally struggling to keep his sanity and his mind as the fly's influence becomes ever stronger. Geena Davis also excels as the tough, resourceful female lead, inexorably caught up in the horrific chain of events. Her fleshed-out portrayal is what the countless slashers of the '80s really needed. John Getz lends good support as a seedy yet kind magazine publisher, whom Davis turns to in her time of need.
Add to this formula a good score, lots of clever hi-tech (well, for the mid '80s) computer gimmickry and some clever scenes showing Goldblum's transformation (the gymnastics and the horrible fingernail-pulling bit in the bathroom), this film would have been a success any way you looked at it. But Cronenberg decided to add in some really horrific gore and special effects, which alienated a lot of audiences. The worst bits are when Goldblum has to regurgitate his food to digest, cue lots of vomiting in THE EXORCIST tradition. There are some bloody moments, like the infamous arm-wrestling, too. However, aside from all this, there is one true reason why I knew this film had succeeded. Yes, I did indeed shed a tear or two at the end of the film, which is truly moving, and heart wrenching. A poorly conceived sequel was churned out a couple of years later by the man who did the special effects in this, Chris Walas. Not surprisingly, it didn't reach this kind of level.