The Fly (1986)

Now we get to the 1986 remake of “The Fly.” Director David Cronenberg has always been fascinated with the changing of the human body in every form – mutation, drug addiction, etc. – and the horror and dislike that naturally results. In other words, he is able to develop natural fears through supernatural means. The re-working of the 1958 horror classic “The Fly” gave him productive ground to explore this theme.

A scientist, Seth Brundle, played by Jeff Goldblum, with motion sickness tries to invent a teleportation machine. He almost gets it right, but his dedication to all things scientific and his ignorance of human interaction become his collapse. His computer does not know what to do when a fly enters the pod along with poor Seth and the machine splices them together. At first Seth feels great, but slowly finds himself losing body parts as he mutates into a fly. Cronenberg steps-up the story by introducing Veronica, played by Geena Davis, a beautiful reporter who falls for Seth at exactly the wrong time.

Jeffrey M. Anderson stated in his review, “Charles Edward Pogue and Cronenberg's intelligent script and Goldblum's heartfelt performance make this outlandish story perfectly feasible.” The original film had no such explanations. It simply shows a scientist trying out his new machine and coming out with the head and right arm of a fly. Cronenberg makes his movie more scientific and far more personal, showing Seth wrestling head on humankind’s biggest fear: the crumble of the body.

Anderson mentioned in his review, “The Fly grows yet another layer when it's revealed that Cronenberg himself suffers from chronic motion sickness.” Only a master filmmaker of the highest quality could make a masterpiece from that.

Obsessed with the horrifying suggestions of a combination of science, technology and the powerful prospective of the human mind, body and gender, Cronenberg had created several highly personal films over the previous 15 years. While the concepts of these films are interesting and unique, the films themselves were rather rough. Careless, poorly cast, underbudgeted, and sometimes confused, there was also not enough attention paid to the development of characters as complex, emotional human beings. With his decision to remake the 1958 classic “The Fly,” Cronenberg found the perfect opening for his obsessions, producing his most controlled, mature and insightful work to date.

“The Fly” succeeds on many levels. Cronenberg has never obtained better performances from his players. Goldblum is inspiring in a rare leading role. Davis is also in top form. As a couple, they are so convincing and appealing that you regret knowing that their love story will soon become a tragic horror movie.

TV Guide mentioned in their review, “As a remake, THE FLY transcends the original, taking it in new directions and exploring its underutilized potential.” Whereas the original collapsed into a campy fly hung, the remake chooses for a slow change from man to fly that develops as a disease might. This gives Cronenberg time to examine the suggestions of such a process, considering upon our fear of disease, death and change.

In the end, I would say check this movie out. This is one of the good horror remakes, considering how a lot of them suck really badly. However, this is one of those exceptions where the remake is actually really good.

Sadly, much like the original, this film had a sequel, which I don’t see why they would make that, as this one did not end on a note that there would be a sequel. How is the sequel? Well, you just have to watch out until tomorrow where I conclude “Fly-a-thon.”