The Fly is a 1986 sci fi horror film directed by David Cronenberg and starring Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, and John Getz. The story follows an eccentric scientist, Seth Brundle (Goldblum) trying to discover how to teleport, working alone in his lab. He meets a journalist (Geena Davis) at a science convention and in an attempt to woo her convinces her to come back with him to check out his work, which she’s impressed with, and he eventually agrees to let her document. After moving up from successfully teleporting objects to eventually animals from one pod to another, Brundle decides to try the machine out on himself, while in a frustrated, drunken stupor. Unbeknownst to him, a fly enters the pod with him and when they teleport the machine splices their DNA together, making him half man, half fly, or a brand-new species called Brundlefly if you will. We follow along on a ride of his descent from man to fly.
This transformation is a slow burn process done very well as we see the full evolution of Brundle going from man to fly, it’s not campy as much as it is scientific and heartbreaking. The true beauty in this is that it’s not only a sci fi horror movie but in part an emotional, romantic tragedy as we see Ronnie (Davis) completely lose grasp of Brundle, a man she had recently begun to fall for. Initially he feels ecstatic about his transformation after teleporting, he has strength and powers he had never felt before and a sex drive out of this world, and even tries to convince Ronnie and another girl (after Ronnie refuses) to take the leap he took to be his partner in crime. However, he quickly becomes pushy and mean and loses grasp of who he is as a man, pushing basically everyone out of his life in the process. Shortly after that the physical changes start to take place.
The special effects in this movie were great, beautifully disgusting, for 1986 or for any time period, so shout out to Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis who were in charge of the makeup and effects on the film. I’m a sucker for old, over the top, special effects in horror films yes, but anyone can appreciate the effects that this movie brings to the table, even if they disgust you. Cronenberg is a man for detail and he doesn’t pull any punches here either, detailing the eating process of flies as Brundle regurgitates his digestive juices onto food before consuming it and so many more random fly facts throughout. I’m a nerd for insects though so perhaps I enjoyed that raw portrayal more than the average viewer would, but regardless the detail and the effort in this film are truly there from all parties involved. All 3 main characters played their parts very well, notably Goldblum and Davis, the relationship between the 2 was well acted and you still felt sympathy for them both at times for what they had to go through in this process. If you’re in the mood for a sci fi horror film this one is certainly a gem, the men of the movie are both a little uncomfortable to deal with at times, but the overall story, along with the Cronenberg style special effects as Brundle goes through his slow transformation to fly are just too awesome to deny.
