Reviews now on YouTube! | Watch here

Larsen On Film

  • Review Library
  • Subscribe
  • Why I’m Wrong
  • About
  • Books

Fly, The

David Cronenberg remakes a B movie from the 1950s into one of his signature exercises in ickiness. The Fly seems fairly sane for awhile, offering little hint of the grotesqueries to come. Jeff Goldblum stars as Seth Brundle, a reclusive scientist on the verge of perfecting a teleportation device. The guy seems to know his stuff, but his buggy, twitchy eyes should be taken as an omen: When Brundle tries to teleport himself and a fly sneaks into the machine, the result is a human-fly hybrid. When Brundle’s body starts falling apart, Cronenberg’s visceral imagery takes over. From Rabid to Dead Ringers to Naked Lunch, Cronenberg’s movies are often about the things that happen with our bodies when the bathroom door is closed (and locked). As Brundle devolves, he oozes and gurgles and bleeds. By emphasizing such biological nastiness, Cronenberg taps into a real horror – the ugly mortality of our physical beings.

Recent Reviews

Sorry, Baby (2025)

Drama Rated R

“… keeps you on your toes with a rare combination of wit, emotion, and empathy.”

Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

“Tries to bridge both Jurassic eras…”

The Last Detail (1973)

Drama Rated R

“… a laconic reappraisal of America in the dismal 1970s.”


Search Review Library

Sponsored by the following | become a sponsor



SUBSCRIBE


Sign up to receive emails

Sign up to get new reviews and updates delivered to your inbox!

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!




FOLLOW ONLINE



All rights reserved. All Content ©2024 J. Larsen
maintained by Big Ocean Studios

TOP