HALLOWEENTOWN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Every day this month, resident horror movie enthusiast and 828newsNOW staff reporter Pruett Norris is recommending a Halloween film for your macabre amusement.
Whether they be monster movies or fearsome family films, demonic possessions or slasher sensations, this exercise hopes to encourage spooky seasonal “scream”ings at home or in cinemas.
As the old saying goes, “trick or treat, trick or treat, give me something good to…watch.”
Day 9: THE FLY (1986, 96 min., directed by David Cronenberg)
Jeff Goldblum is probably most famous now for his slick, leather-jacketed performance as Dr. Ian Malcolm in “Jurassic Park” and its sequels. However, seven years before he uttered the immortal JP line “life, uh, finds a way,” his acting career found a way with a sweaty, antic performance as Dr. Seth Brundle in the 1986 body horror smash “The Fly.”
David Cronenberg is famous for turning the human body into monstrous grotesqueries. His films are fleshy, gross and revered by cult film enthusiasts. “The Fly” is Cronenberg at his most commercial, grossing $60 million on a $15 million budget and winning an Academy Award for Best Makeup. The film is beloved by critics, inspirational to filmmakers and infamous in pop culture.
It is also a deeply strange, horribly upsetting parable about scientific hubris and drinking on the job.
Goldblum plays Brundle, a nearly-mad scientist who has invented a device that can teleport objects between two transportation pods in his laboratory. Brundle attracts the interest of journalist Ronnie Quaife, played by weird-80s-movie-darling Geena Davis, who overcomes an initial skepticism to spark a romance with the bumbling Brundle.
The first third of the movie is a hoot, alternating the charming romance between the two leads with lab montages. Cronenberg spares no time getting into the plot, introducing Brundle and Quaife in the very first scene and explaining the central sci-fi concept with as little exposition as he can muster. The brisk, breezy tone of the first half of the movie and the beauty of its two leads make the turn all the more tragic.
During a fit of drunken jealousy at Quaife, contending with her obnoxious ex-boyfriend and editor, Stathis Borans, played by John Getz, Brundle decides to teleport himself in his machines. Unbeknownst to him, a fly is trapped in the pod with him. When Brundle rematerializes on the other end, he and fly have fused at the molecular level.
The film gets real gross from there on out.
To say any more would be depriving new viewers of a seminal experience in practical effects and sci-fi theatrics. All you need to know is that Goldblum transforms into a fly man. It is sick. It is awesome.
“The Fly” is now available to watch with a Hulu, Criterion Channel or Peacock subscription.
Looking for more October movie recommendations? Read the rest of the 828boosNOW archive:
DAY 1: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
DAY 3: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS
DAY 5: SCOOBY-DOO! AND THE WITCH’S GHOST