The Fly (1958)

Director: Kurt Neumann

Cast: Al Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price, Herbert Marshall

Have I Seen it Before: Never. I’m a little surprised as well. I’ve seen the remade The Fly (1986) any number of times, but the original stayed just off my radar. If it hadn’t been the one-two punch of picking up the Shout! Factory box set of all the Fly-films, and that one of my co-hosts on Beyond the Cabin in the Woods really made the case for this being the superior attempt at the story, I might never have gotten around to it.

Did I Like It: I’m not sure why precisely I would have resisted as long as I did. I have no qualms about claiming 50s Sci-Fi as a favorite. Vincent Price has never been bad, even when he was in something horrible.

Even so, the Goldblum version is so good, that I can help but sit through large swaths of this resolute in my commitment to not enjoy it all that much. It’s a bit too mannered for it’s own good. Is it possible it’s just too Canadian for it’s own good, making the entire affair seem a bit ridiculous, beyond that which one might expect to find in a story where a man slowly turns into a fly.

But damned if the thing didn’t win me over after a bit. There’s no gore to set one’s teeth on edge. The eventual makeup work is quite correctly hidden for most of the movie, because once it is finally revealed its just as likely to amuse as it is shock or horrify. But there are a couple of added dimensions here that the other film doesn’t bother to use. For one, the terrible fate of the family cat in this film is far more frightening than anything that happens to any baboon in another movie. The notion that there might be some fate beyond the act of teleportation that still allows one to meow so that people can hear it is one of those unnerving elements of a horror movie that stick with you long after it is over. For another thing, there is the idea that not only there is a man who is slowly becoming more fly-like with every passing moment, but there’s also a fly who is slowly becoming more man-like with every passing moment. The “help me” moment may be famous, but it plays far better than its reputation suggests.

The Fly II (1989)

Director: Chris Walas

Cast: Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga, Lee Richardson, John Getz

Have I Seen It Before: Oddly enough, no. As much as I admire The Fly (1986), the reputation on this one has managed to keep me away all these years. If Shout Factory hadn’t decided to package every Fly movie together, I might never have come around to it. I do remember being oddly transfixed by the poster in some movie rental store somewhere—like you do when you’re a kid.

Did I Like It: I think no review of this movie would be complete, or even begin to address the fundamental, unavoidable problem, without first discussing Kelsey Grammer.

Yes, you read that right.

For the first few times, whenever Grammer directed an episode of Frasier, there was a very specific plot construction that told you he was directing before the credits even started to roll. Frasier’s going on vacation/going to a concert/visiting Freddy in Boston/searching for the lost Ark of the Covenant*. It allowed him to actually direct and not have to worry about much of a performance.

Why bring this up in the mostly forgotten sequel to Cronenberg’s remake? Well, Walas did excellent creature work in the first film, and while I think it would be probably hoping for too much for this sequel to be at the same level as the first, but one would be perfectly within their rights to expect a B-movie with some interesting effects work, but what we got instead was a B movie with incredibly sloppy creature work, I’m not sure what we were doing here in the first place.

If Chris Walas hadn’t put so much pressure on himself to both direct—virgin territory for him—and do the effects work, one of those aspects might have been able to stand on their own.

*I’m pretty sure I’m remembering that one right. Frakes would also do that the first few times he directed on TNG, but bringing up Frakes in this review wasn’t going to be nearly as fun.

The Fly (1986)

Director: David Cronenberg

Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel

Have I Seen it Before: Oh, sure. It even became the basis for an occasionally returned to rule on <Beyond the Cabin in the Woods>. Essentially: Toxic masculinity aside, when your penis falls off, you need to go to the doctor.

Somehow, I haven’t returned to the film since starting with Cabin and these reviews.

Did I Like It: Even though I’ve seen it probably a dozen times over the years, I’m struck by how much it works as a thriller. The lead up to the unfortunate fate of the baboon (and the relatively benign fate of his brother), Brundle’s (Goldblum) prowling for someone else to share of teleporting, his progressive unravelling right up until the point that he fused with his infernal machine. Each of those moments put me on the edge of my seat, as if I was watching the movie for the first time. I’ve seen other horror movies multiple times—Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Halloween (1978) immediately come to mind—but none of them hit me with that same instinctive feeling of terror as this does.

Even if the film’s pulse-pounding effects somehow dulled over the years, there would be more than enough of a great film to enjoy. I’m torn on whether or not this was the role Goldblum was born to play, or if he so thoroughly understood the task in front of him, but every stutter and twitch makes an audience believe that the border between man and fly is thinner than any of us might want to admit, and that’s before any special effect comes into place. And this entire review has managed to avoid talking about those very special effects. The makeup revolts and feels real, and it is supremely difficult for any horror movie to embrace puppetry and not feel silly, but when those last vestiges of humanity disappear, ti still feels as if there is something of Goldblum in there somewhere.