The Fly is a remake of Vincent Price's 1958 camp classic, although the two films have little more than a germ of a story idea in common. Both films were very successful, and each predictably spawned a sequel that was much less successful.

In the 1986 version, reclusive scientist Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) manages to seduce hotty reporter Veronica (Geena Davis) by promising her the story of the century: a working teleportation device. Eventually, Brundle puts himself into the contraption, with dire results.

Filmmaker David Cronenberg, whose Videodrome and The Dead Zone had become cult sci-fi favorites, was an obvious and deserving choice as director. Cronenberg also helped to write the screenplay, as well as deliver Davis' dream-sequence maggot baby. His sister Denise served as costume designer.

From a purely science-fiction perspective, The Fly comes up short in many ways. Goldblum's nerdy mad-scientist is a stereotype. He leaps from using a stocking to sending a baboon through his teleporter: surely lab rats or guinea pigs would be an intermediate step. His teleporter becomes a gene splicer, but they are different devices. There's little point in even raising the issue of how a fly and a human could exist as a combined genetic entity.

An infamous scene that was left behind on the cutting room floor had Goldblum as Brundlefly merging a baboon and a cat into the third teleporter. A baboon-cat thing emerged, and was promptly bludgeoned to death by Brundlefly. While this scene would have helped to explain how the pet baboon exits the remainder of the film, it would hardly have increased audience sympathy for Goldblum's plight. Also, for the metamorphosis to be consistent with Brundlefly, the creature should have emerged first as a baboon and then changed slowly into a cat.

But The Fly is a movie, and not a scientific research paper. Goldblum's transformation from an awkward genius into a sadistic monster is a romantic tragedy, rather than a genetic experiment. Will Goldblum recognize what he has become? Can Davis love Goldblum despite his hideous appearance? When does Goldblum lose his humanity as he disintegrates physically and mentally? Is The Fly an allegory about the dangers of technology? These are among the questions that the film raises, and although they are not necessarily original, this does not mean that they are not relevant or worthy of exploration.

Some have said that The Fly was the best science-fiction and/or horror film of the 1980s. However, it wasn't even the best film from 1986 in that genre, as Aliens is certainly superior. I also prefer Angel Heart (1987) and even Brainstorm (1982), although the latter doesn't really qualify as horror.

The major quarrel that I have with The Fly isn't with its premise or stomach-turning gore. It's that the characters are inconsistent. John Getz as Davis' boyfriend in particular changes from a jealous jerk into a courageous supporter. Davis never has any physical fear of Brundlefly, and she returns to both Getz and Goldblum despite their previously disturbing behavior.

The Fly actually won an Academy Award, for Best Makeup. Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis shared the honors for orchestrating Goldblum's descent into Brundlefly.

The Fly was not the only 1950s 'B' horror film to be remade in superior fashion during the 1980s. To a lesser degree, I also recommend The Blob (1988), which is as much a black-humor gross-out fest as The Fly.

Goldblum and Davis would star in three films together, with The Fly easily the most notable. They married in 1987, and divorced three years later. (68/100)

Visit me at filmsgraded.com

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older