The 1980s proved to be an especially fertile ground for filmmakers to show the world that, contrary to popular belief, remakes can actually be better than the original. Between John Carpenter’s “The Thing from Another World” (1982) and “The Blob” (1988), cult director David Cronenberg also achieved this in 1986: with “The Fly” he delivered dark sci-fi horror such as “Scanners” and “ Videodrome ‘, the renowned master of body horror, is for many his absolute masterpiece – which not only won an Oscar, but is still one of the great cult classics that every genre lover must see.
After all, for us the teleportation horror is not only one of the best horror films, but also one of the best science fiction films of all time – and is therefore one of the few works represented in two FILMSTARTS all-time best lists. “The Fly” will be broadcast today, March 3, 2024 at 11:15 PM on 3sat in the unabridged FSK-18 version. If you don’t have the time or inclination in the evening, you will find what you are looking for at Disney+, regardless of the date
The film is therefore one of many science fiction milestones alongside ‘Alien’, ‘Predator’ and ‘Starship Troopers’ available on the Maushaus streaming platform.
“The Fly”: Body horror at its finest
Based on the short story of the same name by George Langelaan, which was made into a film in 1958, ‘The Fly’ tells the story of a scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who has developed a teleporter. Using a complex computer and two wired cabins, he can transport matter directly from one place to another. But soon he finds it no longer enough to simply use objects for his experiments – so he first chases a monkey through his machine before finally performing the ultimate self-test. With devastating consequences…
Of course, “The Fly” ultimately burns itself into the memory with its unspeakably disgusting, handcrafted and, even from today’s perspective, still masterful special effects, for which it once deserved an Oscar. The fact that Cronenberg’s sci-fi horror is often mentioned in the same sentence as Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ is not only due to its qualities as a slimy, mushy creature feature and the remake-better-than-original factor, but mainly to the end on three men: David Cronenberg, Jeff Goldblum and Howard Shore.
The film not only becomes more and more disgusting the longer it lasts, but at the same time it also unfolds a deeply human horror that gets deeper under the skin by the minute. And that’s also because director and author David Cronenberg takes the necessary time at the beginning to introduce his audience to his characters. What also helps, of course, is a super charismatic leading man like Jeff Goldblum, who managed to wrap his viewers (and not least female viewers) around his finger with his charm long before ‘Jurassic Park’. It’s easy to get excited with such an approachable, imperfectly smart guy.
And then of course there is film music legend Howard Shore (“The Lord of the Rings”), who underlines the dark basic theme of the film and its bloodthirsty violent peaks with the dark sounds that match it perfectly. His score is the atmospheric crowning glory of the film and ultimately makes ‘The Fly’ what it is: an incredibly atmospheric genre gem that, even after more than 35 years, still captivates you from the first to the last minute.
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