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Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel, Les Carlson ... see more see more... , George Chuvalo , Michael Copeman , Shawn Hewitt , Carol Lazare , David Cronenberg

Considered fairly gruesome in its day, the original 1958 The Fly looks like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood compared to this 1986 remake. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis star as Seth Brundle, a self-involve... read more read more...d research scientist, and Veronica Quaife, a science-magazine reporter. Inviting Veronica to his lab, Seth prepares to demonstrate his "telepod," which can theoretically transfer matter through space. As they grow closer over the next few weeks, she inadvertently goads Seth into experimenting with human beings rather than inanimate objects. Seth himself enters the telepod, preparing to transmit himself through the ether -- but he doesn't know that he is sharing the telepod with a tiny housefly. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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75% liked it

80,512 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

46 critics

R, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Release Date: August 15, 1986

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DVD Release Date: September 5, 2000

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Stats: 3,974 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,974)

  • moonrivers
    May 19, 2012
    moonrivers
    Cronenberg not so much remakes the Vincent Price cult standard (which its better than) but rather Whale's Frankenstein and its very nearly a solid contender. There's gross out special effects, there's romance, and boy-o-boy there's horror. One of the very best of the genre with... read more a good performance by Davis but a absolutely brilliant turn by Goldblum as the lonely scientist who makes one tragic mistake.
  • phubbs1
    February 29, 2012
    phubbs1
    This scared the hell outta me when I was a kid but god its good. Goldblum is great here and Davis smoulders in a slutty way, the effects are just simple 80's mask and goo effects (by today's standards) but they work superbly well.

    Cgi? who needs it?? I think this is one film th... read moreat proves you don't need computers to make a film look very realistic and vile in an affective way, I just wish film makers would pay more attention to this.

    Its a little tacky now in places but it still shocks and its just so much fun, the arm wrestle scene still makes me wince every time hehe. This is Cronenberg's best I reckon, the atmosphere is thick and the tension as 'Brundle' transforms is delicious, turning a very average old B-movie into a sci-fi gore fest of epic proportions. The story really makes you feel for Brundle as well, the end is quite sad as you feel for the man/creature in its last moments.
  • fb1664868775
    October 27, 2011
    fb1664868775
    An imaginative retelling of a horror/love story.
  • fb100001493964409
    August 11, 2011
    fb100001493964409
    Remakes usually suck. A lot. Like, they're worse than being kicked in the groin by Iron Man. They're awful. But the 80s had a few exceptions worth noting, especially in the horror genre. "The Thing" is one of these exceptions. "The Fly" is another. This is one of those remakes th... read moreat trumps the original tenfold. The original is a good 50s horror film with a lot of class and good make-up (for the time needs to be emphasized here). But the remake has a far more interesting idea than a scientist just swapping an arm and a head with a house fly. What if he was genetically fused with the house fly? What results are some of the sickest, nastiest, make-up effect setpieces in film history. The last 10 minutes in particular has an incredible transformation that'll leave even the most seasoned horror film fan blown away. THIS IS NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH. But it is one of the best in the horror genre and one of the best remakes ever. Highly recommended.
  • c0up
    July 30, 2011
    c0up
    David Cronenberg's 'The Fly'. Disgustingly gruesome body horror sci-fi at its best.
  • fb100001050230219
    June 26, 2011
    fb100001050230219
    Classic sci-fi / horror. Jeff Goldblum gives a phenomenal performance and Cronenberg combines this tragic romance with gruesome gore in a very entertaining way.
  • fb57802118
    June 5, 2011
    fb57802118
    A powerful metaphor with some powerful visuals. Cronenberg has a message about disease, and the visceral transformations will invade your body and make you feel that message in your stomach. Brillliantly acted (who knew Jeff Goldblum had it in him?) and deftly directed. There are... read more a couple of eye-rolling lines of dialogue and delivery from Stathis Borans, but overall the script rocks solid. Be advised - this movie is DISGUSTING, almost to the point of drowning out its message; not for everyone. The birth scene was the worst for me.
  • imrealgod
    April 9, 2011
    imrealgod
    A spectacular tale about what happens when a scientist (who yearns for the Nobel Prize and has a strong urge to do "something that will change the world and human life as we know it") proceeds with his extraordinary project with confidence and pride, but it goes unimaginably awry.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    January 30, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    David Cronenberg's The Fly is one of the best Horror films of the 1980's. Cronenberg has always made films that have to do with bodily horror, and in The Fly we have one of the best examples of his work. Cronenberg has made many terrific films dealing in the body Horror genre, on... read moree of favorites is Videodrome, but I have got to give him props for this incredible remake. His version of The Fly is incredibly raw, and unflinching. The Fly is truly a masterwork in the Horror genre. Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis give terrific performances. The film is well paced and steadily builds up to the horrifying moments that Jeff Goldblum's character becomes a fly after his teleportation experiment goes wrong. The Fly remake is a marvel of body Horror, it's one of those films that genuinely scares you, I was scared shitless watching this. The thing that I admire the most about director David Cronenberg is the fact that he has a talent, and eye of what makes you tick, he knows how to scare you in horrific ways by portraying situations on screen that are shocking and terrifying. The Fly is his best since Videodrome and he pulls out every trick that he's got to create one of the best horror remakes ever made. The Fly is a definite work of genius and not since the 1958 film has The Fly been more terrifying than ever before. Simply put, The Fly is a sick, twisted, perverted masterpiece of Cronenberg fair. And I mean that with the greatest compliment. The Fly is one of the best films of it's kind and remains one of Cronenbergs very best films.
  • CreedsDelight
    January 23, 2011
    CreedsDelight
    A simple premise: An eccentric scientist slowly transforms into a human fly after an experiment goes wrong. It's so entertaining and you keep trying to look away but you can't.

    Grade: B+

View All The Fly Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard Corliss
October 18, 2011
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

A gross-your-eyes-out horror movie that is also the year's most poignant romance. Full Review

Variety Staff
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff, Variety

David Cronenberg's remake of the 1958 horror classic The Fly is not for the squeamish. Casting Jeff Goldblum was a good choice as he brings a quirky, common touch to the spacey scientist role. Full Review

James Berardinelli
June 10, 2008
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The Fly is almost unique for a horror movie in that it compels us sympathize with and root for the characters. Full Review

Pat Graham
June 5, 2007
Pat Graham, Chicago Reader

Image so much subverts intention that Jeff Goldblum's tragic flyperson finally seems more ludicrous than affecting, voyeuristically bizarre. Full Review

Caryn James
May 20, 2003
Caryn James, New York Times

...a film that tries to be too many things at once -- funny but not campy, sad and scary, a horror story and a human tragedy... Full Review

Rob Humanick
October 20, 2011
Rob Humanick, Suite101.com

One of the greatest, horror or otherwise. Full Review

Richard Luck
September 24, 2007
Richard Luck, Film4

Cronenberg's most conventional film prior to A History Of Violence, The Fly is also among the finest of his American movies. Full Review

Adam Smith
September 24, 2007
Adam Smith, Empire Magazine

Cronenberg's most triumphant and accessible film to date. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
February 13, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It left me itching for something less warped to identify with than a human fly. Full Review

January 26, 2006
Time Out

The playful, quirky chemistry between Goldblum and Davis in the first half of the movie ensures that this gothic horror is heartbreaking as well as stomach-churning. Full Review

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Facts

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    • 2nd Man in Bar: Better watch out, he eats chocolate bars.
    • Marky: Yeah, so I noticed.
    • Seth Brundle: I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it.
    • Seth Brundle: (to Veronica) - You're afraid to dive into the plasma pool, aren't you? You're afraid to be destroyed and recreated, aren't you? I'll bet you think that you woke me up about the flesh, don't you? But you only know society's straight line about the flesh. You can't penetrate beyond society's sick, gray, fear of the flesh. Drink deep, or taste not, the plasma spring! You see what I'm saying? And I'm not just talking about sex and penetration. I'm talking about penetration beyond the veil of the flesh! A deep penetrating dive into the plasma pool!
    • Veronica Quaife: Designer phone booths. Very cute. I bet you have a really neat jukebox in here too.
    • Veronica Quaife: Five sets of exactly the same clothes?
    • Seth Brundle: Learned it from Einstein. This way I don't have to expend any thought on what to wear. I grab the next set on the rack.
    • Seth Brundle: (to Veronica) - Don't go back to it.
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The Fly Trivia

  • Name the movie in which Geena Davis warned, 'Be afraid. Be very afraid.'?  Answer »
  • Name the actor who links Jurrasic park, Cats & Dogs, Independance Day and The Fly.  Answer »
  • who stared with Jeff Goldblum in David Cronemberg's The Fly?  Answer »
  • where an actor said, "I'm working on something that will change the world, and human life as we know it."  Answer »
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