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[BossLackey]

I love 80's horror movies, science fiction, and body horror and The Fly is brimming with all of these elements. I rewatch it at least once a year, but somehow my wife hadn't seen it. Watching it with her for her first time this last weekend and seeing it through her eyes just further cements this movie as one of my all-time favorites.

To me, The Fly is a perfect film. The pacing is impeccable. You start with the two main characters already speaking before quickly moving the plot forward when we see the "lab" for the first time. From then on, the movie is non-stop forward momentum. There's not an ounce of fat on it and it showcases some of the best editing I've seen, especially when accompanied by understated (yet equally brilliant!) cinematography.

Dr. Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) has such a journey as a character. In a little over 90 minutes, he has an unforgettable arc containing half a dozen transitions from bookish shut-in and "sexy" confident scientist to superhuman and eventually full-blown Brundlefly.

The practical effects and body horror on display are famous in this movie. The slow transition from "huh, that's strange" to "dear LORD" disgustery by the end of the last act is masterclass stuff and the effects hold up SO well IMO (much like The Thing before). Geena Davis is absolutely paramount to selling the horrific imagery. There are several prolonged closeups of her reactions as she processes the images we've just seen and to me this is her finest role because of it. She sells it SO well and I can't say enough just how great she is. She amplifies these already uncomfortable scenes to even higher levels of horror and disgust. The tension and horror just ratchet up constantly and never stop until the credits roll.

I've subjected my wife to many horror movies, including body horror, and she was still uncomfortable the entire second half of the movie. This is as much of a comfort watch as it gets for me and will forever be one of my favorite pieces of art. Something about the short-story feel, the mad scientist motif, and the simplicity of the elements make it something that is incredibly inspiring as an artist.

They don't get much better than this.

 

[kanjobazooie]

The movie that traumatized me and my 500 cousins.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Wish we got to see more of The Brundlefly fully realised.

 

[SirKicksalot]

I felt personally attacked by the coffee with your sugar bit.

 

[BossLackey]

Wish we got to see more of The Brundlefly fully realised.

Agreed. Although I think it was best for the movie to keep it more mysterious and fleeting, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see a much longer version where his end-game (or one of many) could have been realized.

 

[Spukc]

where almost no horror movies shock me..
This movie still does

 

[Kenneth Haight]

SO good, one of the best horror films. Gina davis and Jeff Goldblum are fantastic in this. So silly and goofy but really sad as well.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

Never seen it, never will.

The images I've seen have been enough to keep me away from this nightmare-looking shit.

 

[jason10mm]

The Fly 2 is better....change my mind!

But yeah, the perfect example that a tight script, great actors, and unerring focus doesn't need a massive budget (9-15 mill in the 80's). I don't know what changed about the look (transition to video?) of stuff but so many low budget films from the 70's and 80's hold up while they can't now.

 

[Mr Hyde]

"I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it, but now the dream is over, and the insect is awake."

This quote has always stuck with me. It's tragic and beautiful at the same time. The scene is heartbreaking as Brundle has come to terms that his humanity is gone and that he will hurt the person he loves the most. It's just a sad story all around. Not many horror movies have such good writing or as much heart as the Fly. It's why it's consistently ranked as one of the greats, in my opinion.

 

[Labolas]

Yeah, this movie fucked me up as a kid. The scene where he's looking into the mirror still kinda gets me.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

I love this movie, and OP, you did a good job of explaining why I do. That in media res start really gives you juuuust a bit of "reality" as a base before it dives headfirst into the story proper, which shouldn't be relatable, but somehow endears sympathy. Like you said: there is no fat, and every scene is meaningful.

Something about David Cronenbergs movies are extra immersive to me. I think it's how well the worlds are fleshed out despite being unapologetically weird and alien. Like a David Lynch dreamscape if it actually had internally consistent logic.

 

[funkygunther]

This is a crunchy movie. Not much plot but all concept, subtext and effects.

 

[PrimetimeKnight]

Masterpiece of a movie. The special effects are next level and goddamn....that ending.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

The grossest movie I have ever seen. Especially that part where Gina Davis has the dream of giving birth. That shit made me lose my appetite. Great movie though.

Almost hard to believe it was produced by Mel Brooks. Yes, funny guy Mel Brooks.

 

[RaduN]

Is this the movie with the line:

- Are you a bodybuilder or something?
- Yeah...i build bodies.

 

[VulcanRaven]

Great movie but I prefer the 1958 version.

The Fly 2 is better....change my mind!

I watched it for the first time last year and it was bad. The main actor wasn't good.

 

[BossLackey]

Is this the movie with the line:

- Are you a bodybuilder or something?
- Yeah...i build bodies.

Yep! So good. And that scene where the juice is starting to come out of their hands. So good.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

"Be afraid. Be very afraid."

 

[BossLackey]

Yeah, this movie fucked me up as a kid. The scene where he's looking into the mirror still kinda gets me.

That's the scene that got me as a kid as well. Felt almost too real. Not just the effect, but that's the type of nightmare you actually have.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Fun fact: As the film released during peak AIDS time in the 80s, Cronenberg was a bit obsessed and was "inspired" by it, showing a man's body slowly deteriorating and falling apart, much like how the virus itself attacks the body.

 

[BossLackey]

"I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it, but now the dream is over, and the insect is awake."

This quote has always stuck with me. It's tragic and beautiful at the same time. The scene is heartbreaking as Brundle has come to terms that his humanity is gone and that he will hurt the person he loves the most. It's just a sad story all around. Not many horror movies have such good writing or as much heart as the Fly. It's why it's consistently ranked as one of the greats, in my opinion.

One of my favorite movie quotes of all time. It's so haunting and something his character would absolutely say. The tragic acceptance and the immediate threat he poses right after saying it like he knows he won't be a person the second his sentence concludes. Amazing.

 

[mortal]

One of the few great body horror films.

 

[Robot Carnival]

yup. one of the best in terms of body horror films. I vaguely remeber the second one, and all I can recall was that I did not enjoy it much.

 

[Labolas]

That's the scene that got me as a kid as well. Felt almost too real. Not just the effect, but that's the type of nightmare you actually have.

No cap, I have had several nightmares that were that same scenario.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Nah fuck this movie

 

[Elginer]

The movie that traumatized me and my 500 cousins.

Yep, you can imagine my absolute fuxking breakdown when I went to Universal Studios and saw the pods. I lost my shit and my parents had to take me out of that horror make up show.

 

[Power Pro]

As much as this version fucks me up with how gross it is...for some reason, the "help me" scene from the original still fucks with me more. I can't watch it, it freaks me the fuck out.

 

[6502]

One of the first vhs movies I owned as a kid. Great days when parents didn't know what age ratings were.

Watched it thousands of times, but that arm wrestling bit still turns my stomach.

 

[jason10mm]

Much like The Thing, The Fly is a remake so good it almost totally wipes the original from memory.

 

[Esca]

Iirc he called himself grendalfly

 

[badblue]

I'd love to see Brandon Cronenberg tackle a Fly 3. God damn we all know that transportation tech would never been abandoned.

​

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

Brilliant but I refuse to watch it again because the ending makes me incredibly sad. It's like Elephant Man when he gets to advanced stage Brundlefly.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

To this day this movie is amazing. Very underrated I feel when people talk about amazing movies from back then. As mentioned It's the superior version of The Fly.

 

[VulcanRaven]

Much like The Thing, The Fly is a remake so good it almost totally wipes the original from memory.

I like the original more. That photo is actually from the sequel Return of the Fly. It wasn't in color and had worse special effects.

 

[KrakenIPA]

Boomers really took their toddlers to this movie like it was all good. It was not all good when I saw it with my fam in '86. Many viewers in the theatre had to leave due to physical revulsion.

 

[GymWolf]

Simply one of the best movies ever made.

 

[GymWolf]

The movie that traumatized me and my 500 cousins.

Pretty sure a grizzly bear can kill any brundlefly in a fight...

 

[k_trout]

what a few years, love cronenberg
1981 Scanners
1983 Videodrome
1983 The Dead Zone
1986 The Fly
1988 Dead Ringers

 

[AV]

Fantastic movie and Cronenberg's finest hour. Insane that a movie about a man turning into a fly can have such a tragic and heartbreaking final sequence. Really affected me.

 

[INC]

"The thing" gets all the practical fx praise, but to me, the fly is also right up there, and honestly more unsettling.

 

[nkarafo]

Great atmosphere. It feels claustrophobic. The dark sci-fi visuals are also great, the teleportation pods look like something from the Alien universe.

 

[phaedrus]

the teleportation pods look like something from the Alien universe.

The set designer actually just copied Cronenberg's Ducati bike engine

 

[swaffles23]

I love the practical effects from these 1980s horror movies. The Fly and The Thing are both great

 

[Rat Rage]

Seriously, I really believe, if you like shit like that, there's something wrong with you.

 

[wondermega]

Really great film, mid-1980s was a peak of filmmaking which is pretty far away at this point. They were in a groove of doing remarkable sci-fi with strong actors, great practical effects, and outrageous (but usually not over-the-top) themes. What Hollywood output from the early 80s through the later part of the decade was irreplaceable, the 90s coasted off of these films but as CGI became more of a crutch/"draw" that cohesion fell further and further apart. Ah well, nothing lasts forever, but at least there is a remarkable catalog which we will have forever.

And not to sound too "old man yelling at cloud-y" but I don't doubt that we will see a similar resurgence at some point, as reliance on tech levels out/becomes mundane once again, and simple storytelling becomes a main focus out of necessity. Lots of interesting times to come..

 

[mitch1971]

The bit that sticks in my head is the part where he eats like a fly. You hear the slurping and vomiting off scream.

 

[DeepEnigma]

I remember getting freaked out as a kid when he was turning and his ear fell off.

 

[jason10mm]

Really great film, mid-1980s was a peak of filmmaking which is pretty far away at this point. They were in a groove of doing remarkable sci-fi with strong actors, great practical effects, and outrageous (but usually not over-the-top) themes. What Hollywood output from the early 80s through the later part of the decade was irreplaceable, the 90s coasted off of these films but as CGI became more of a crutch/"draw" that cohesion fell further and further apart. Ah well, nothing lasts forever, but at least there is a remarkable catalog which we will have forever.

And not to sound too "old man yelling at cloud-y" but I don't doubt that we will see a similar resurgence at some point, as reliance on tech levels out/becomes mundane once again, and simple storytelling becomes a main focus out of necessity. Lots of interesting times to come..

I really feel like CG is just too much of a crutch. There is NOTHING you can't do with CG, even if it's ultimately pretty dodgy, so there are no real limitations. But with practical effects there are limits, be it building a set, using matte paintings, props, stunts, or inserting an animated character or effect. These limitations drive creativity and, when stuff is present on set, INSPIRE creativity and authentic actor reactions that you just don't get when its a ping pong ball on a green stick. Soooo many shows these days have a few actors in an empty room pretending to be in a slightly more awesome but still empty room. Plus a lot of crap flies when it has the 'charm' of looking like an effect in ways CG just doesn't, hard to explain. Why is a bad puppet more "believable" than a low rez 90's and beyond CG animal? Uncanny valley?

 

[wondermega]

I really feel like CG is just too much of a crutch. There is NOTHING you can't do with CG, even if it's ultimately pretty dodgy, so there are no real limitations. But with practical effects there are limits, be it building a set, using matte paintings, props, stunts, or inserting an animated character or effect. These limitations drive creativity and, when stuff is present on set, INSPIRE creativity and authentic actor reactions that you just don't get when its a ping pong ball on a green stick. Soooo many shows these days have a few actors in an empty room pretending to be in a slightly more awesome but still empty room. Plus a lot of crap flies when it has the 'charm' of looking like an effect in ways CG just doesn't, hard to explain. Why is a bad puppet more "believable" than a low rez 90's and beyond CG animal? Uncanny valley?

There's a lot to say, but without getting too involved - back in the day, ANY kind of FX were few and far between, so it was a pretty big deal when there was something going on (a special effect was truly special!) and it became a particularly iconic part of the movie. Otherwise, you'd spend most of the film watching people's heads talking to one another, or perhaps.. driving around in a car, talking to one another. CGI has leveled the playing field, so now instead of having like - 7 VFX shots in a film, there's like 500 (!!!!!) And each shot is tended to by an army of people, and exists with multiple variations for virtually infinite takes. By comparison, the White House explosion shot for Independence Day had 2 actual models built (in case they screwed it up and needed a backup).

Take the new Ant Man Quantumania film. Technically it is literally a marvel of modern filmmaking, each shot is utterly outrageous in design, scope, costuming, etc. I mean, on top of all of that, they threw Bill Murray in there for no other reason than THEY JUST COULD. Ant Man as a concept is still fascinating and the first film is somewhat memorable to me (the notion of a guy who can grow and shrink is still a pretty magical idea that's not been completely done to death in cinema) but this film, love it or hate it, was filled moment to moment with "ok.. we have basically an unlimited budget to do whatever the hell we want for every goddamn scene, so just go hog wild and give each of the umpteen departments a ton of massive hero shots strung together for the entire film, wrap it around a very loose and basic concept, make it kid friendly, GO!" Even the new Guardians movie feels guilty of quite a bit of this. And I don't think these trends will change anytime soon, as the wants and needs of the audience are pretty drastically different than they were 30,40 years ago.