The Fly (1958) / The Fly (1986) (Double Take) [DVD]

The Fly (1958) / The Fly (1986) (Double Take) [DVD]

A dashing scientist's foolhardy experiment with matter transference leads his wife to seriously consider investing in No-pest strips in this deservedly classic melding of the horror, sci-fi, and mystery genres. The marvelous Vincent Price (as the good guy for a change!) leads an admirably straight-faced cast through this taut tale of man intruding on God's domain, presented in reverse flashback order. (Somewhat surprisingly, paid-by-the-pound novelist James Clavell was responsible for the atypically lean screenplay.) This well-paced, blackly humorous yarn can't hold a muck-encrusted candle to director David Cronenberg's ultra-visceral 1986 reimagining, but still contains some remarkably daring imagery for the time period. Squirmy, shuddery fun that still carries an icky jolt, particularly during its justifiably famous final scene. --Andrew Wright

David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of the science fiction classic about a scientist who accidentally swaps body parts with a fly is both smart and terrifying: an allegory for the awful processes of slow death and a monster movie with a tragic spin. Jeff Goldblum gives a masterful performance as a sweet, nerdy scientist whose romance with a writer (Geena Davis) makes him more fully alive. Next thing you know, a tiny oversight in an experiment causes him to transmogrify, gradually, into something more like an insect than a human. This is Cronenberg (Scanners, Videodrome) country, so expect The Fly to be a gross-out, but in the way that disease corrupts the body and can make a loved one unrecognizable on every level. This is one of Cronenberg's best films, and certainly one of the important movies of the 1980s. --Tom Keogh