David Cronenberg's "The Fly" | Far Flungers

Publish date: 2024-09-20

Cronenberg's film represents a new version of the 1958 David Hedison/Vincent Price campy entry and it destroys the much spread generalization that all remakes are gratuitous and evil. This was not just about applying more modern technology to the same concept but about giving it a whole new dimension instead, going well beyond the goals of a typical horror flick such as is the first entry. "The Fly" was released at the dawn of the AIDS epidemic and was seen by many as a metaphor for the disease. The shoe certainly can fit (according to each viewer's personal point of view of course) but it seems to me that Cronenberg's film deals with even more basic issues that just about everybody can identify, such as the fear of coming apart (the very reason why the dismemberment part in "Poltergeist" was the scariest in that movie by far) and that of completely losing control of one self. The latter is perfectly summarized by Seth to Veronica in one of the film's best and most chilling lines: "Have you ever heard insects politics?" Point being he's grasped the fact that he's becoming a creature that is all instinct.

However difficult to watch, "The Fly" does have its share of enjoyable facets such as the sight of Seth showing-off his truly wondrous, newly gained abilities or the intricacies in developing a device of this nature (a sequel dealing with questions such as the teleportation of the soul or how the machine's eventual perfection would put the courier and airline companies out of business, couldn't have been all that bad) This is obviously a preposterous concept but no more than, say, the much-used time travel. The movie certainly holds water in its own terms, though I would have guessed that if two such different beings like a man and a fly became integrated on a genetic level, there would be no reason for this process to be progressive as opposed of having them come out of the chamber already as one (for dramatic purposes, Cronenberg's was obviously the best approach by far). Goldblum's natural oddness makes him perfect for a part (he has the feel of an insect to begin with) and his quirks provide much needed comic relief (think of his owning only identical sets of the same clothes as to avoid wasting his creative energy). Davis as Veronica spends a good deal of the time crying and carrying on (more than justifiably so!) but she is much more than just a simple damsel in distress and besides, she does get to deliver the movie's one now classic line that's become part of everyday language: "be afraid be very afraid!".

Asides from a few of the fads from the 1980s, "The Fly" hardly looks dated. Goldblum's makeup is astounding from the initial sight where we see him start to lose his teeth/fingernails all the way to the closing scenes when he has to come apart (literally). The special effects may seem low-tech to some of today's audiences but I doubt they would be more convincing had they done with more modern techniques. Cronenberg makes excellent use of the "twisting room" (previously used in MGM musicals and in "Poltergeist") that shows Seth jumping effortless from wall to wall. There is a certain feel of weight and volume in that scene that I don't think today's visual effects would have done a very good job of matching. Some other sequences consist of rather rudimentary tricks like the (obvious) use of athlete stunt doubles to display's Seth's athletic abilities (used in situations where the light is dim). I can easily imagine today's filmmakers substituting the very basic trick of Goldblum carrying a girl up several flights of stairs (we only get to see his feet most of the time) with an animated version that would have shown both characters in their entirety the whole time, but that would have likely drawn too much attention to itself."The Fly" is a rather underrated film. After all these years I don't think it's never been shown on commercial TV here in Mexico, which in a way is understandable (and we're talking about the local networks here that never hesitate to place graphic ads on cures for rashes and digestive discomfort at lunch time). "The Fly" is an amazingly effective movie, one that really gets under your skin, the kind of that you can't help but admire but feel no rush to come back to any time soon and when you do, it's probably a good idea to skip the candy counter in advance.

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