The Fly

(1986)

Dir: David Cronenberg

“Psycho killer, qu'est que c'est” (Or ‘The Greatest Horror Films Ever Made’)

 

 

And all the girlies say I’m pretty fly for a white guy.

Sex, bodily mutilation and a romping good Howard Shore soundtrack. It must be a David Cronenberg film. Until the more contemporary efforts of A History Of Violence and Eastern Promises, I would argue that The Fly is Cronenberg’s greatest film.

The plot is about as simple and brilliant as it gets: it’s really just a case of ‘Boy meets Girl’; boy tries to teleport, accidentally splicing his DNA with that of a housefly, and the rest is gory, mutilated history.

 

“I was an insect who dreamed he saw a Cronenberg film … and loved it.”

 

Jeff Goldblum plays the unlucky genius, Martin Brundle, who falls for Geena Davies’ voluptuous reporter Veronica. Brundle’s jealousy drives him into his ultimately fatal error. Cronenberg has been blessed with some truly great leads. In the past he’s had the privilege of working with legends such as Jeremy Irons, Michael ‘One Arm’ Ironside, Viggo Mortensen and Ralph Fiennes. Not exactly marquee names, but they can bloody well act, and that’s what is needed in Cronenberg’s intense pieces. But Jeff Goldblum has never been topped. He may be an acquired taste, but if, like me, you happen to have the right palette for random pauses, quirky sentences and excessive hand gestures, you’ll probably love every second that this man is on your screen. He may be slowly mutating into the most hideous creature imaginable, but does Goldblum allow his tragic character to become a wallowing, self-loathing Emily Dickinson caricature? No. He creates a figure so likeable that his demise really is gut-wrenching. A truly wonderful and underrated performance.

The Fly is one of those forgotten gems of both Science Fiction and Horror. It isn’t excessive. Most of the story takes place in Brundle’s apartment. The genius is in the acting, and the perverse glee that can be derived from any Cronenberg film, where you just know you are guaranteed not just any gore, but something truly unique. And with Jeff Goldblum turning into a six-foot insect before our eyes, just imagine how good that is going to be.

A classic in every sense of the word, The Fly should be the starting point for anyone looking to get into either Cronenberg or Goldblum’s work. But it’s so much more than that. It’s 93 minutes of the funniest, creepiest, most heart-breaking Sci-Fi Horror you could ever imagine. I just wish I could get Jeff to read this out.

**** ½ / *****

“Him from Jurassic Park is in it and turns into a fly. Woman gives birth to giant maggot.”