This movie really isn't as bad as the posters here make it out to be!

Rating: Null/10 (3 March 2004)

This is probably one of my favorite Cronenburg films. I liked it better than Videodrome, The Brood, and Naked Lunch. It's the story of a scientist (Goldblum) who creates the first teleportation device. A journalist (Davis) talks with him about it and decides to go to his apartment for a closer look. He tries to teleport a few things (apple and a cactus) and ends up screwing them up. He tweaks the machine a little bit and puts a monkey inside, only to find out that it came out inside-out on the other side. He tweaks it yet again and tries to teleport himself. What he doesn't know is that a fly flew into the pod with him and their genes fused. Geena Davis eventually has an affair with him, and finds coarse black hairs growing on his back. This is where the movie really picks up. People say this movie is gory, but I wouldn't really say that, it's more gross or nasty than anything. We get to see Jeff slowly transform into a hideous mutant, losing his hair, parts of his teeth, his fingernails, and even an ear. He also gains superhuman strength, the ability to walk on walls, and he is also able to spit corrosive acid from his mouth for digestion purposes. Weeks later we find out that Davis's character is pregnant. She has a weird dream where she gives birth to a giant maggot. Towards the end of the movie, she makes one final appearance at Jeff's apartment. He is hardly human anymore, looking more like a hunchbacked neanderthal with a bad complexion than anything. Her ex-boyfriend comes to the rescue, only to have acid spit on his hand and ankle. Finally, in the goriest scene in the movie, Jeff Goldblum's head splits open as his eyes melt from their sockets and he sheds his diseased-looking skin. At this point, he looks kind of like the Toxic Avenger with a giant mosquito head. He grabs Davis, and drags her to the teleportation chamber in hopes of fusing her with him. Instead, she breaks loose and her ex blows the lock off the door after it closes so Jeff can't get out. The computer makes a mistake and fuses Jeff with the other teleportation chamber (what?!?) and he comes out the other end missing his legs but instead sports a bundle of wires and cables in their place. Geena Davis blasts him in the head and the movie ends.
This movie was great because Craonenburg is simply a great director. If he makes a film with violence in it, he tries to make it a more creative, surrealistic effect rather than the always conventional shotgun blast or stabbing. If you like his artistic and surrealistic flair, be sure to check out Videodrome and Naked Lunch. This movie had a sequel, but it wasn't nearly as good as the first. It's a lot different (in a not-so-good way) and the final creature looks more like the aliens from Species than it does insectile.