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.