10 Weird And Creepy Moments In David Cronenberg Films

9. Brundlefly

Cronenberg's most famous film is also his most emotionally complex, and he has struggled to match its intense portrayal of the human condition since. Where other films dealt with the issue of humanity through dense dialogue (Cosmopolis), family relationships (A History Of Violence), satire (Maps To The Stars) and sexual liaisons (A Dangerous Method), The Fly tackles the theme in the most Cronenberg-esque way possible: through disturbing visual imagery. The Fly is the story of a scientist (Seth Brundle, played by Jeff Goldblum) slowly turning into a fly after an experiment with teleportation devices goes wrong. He begins his transformation by exhibiting enhanced "human" traits such as immense strength and incredible sexual prowess, which leads to him trying to force other people to use the teleportation devices. However, he begins to display manic traits and grow bristling hairs, before parts of his body slowly start to fall off. The audience is then treated to his gradual (d)evolution into a man-fly, or the "Brundlefly". The makeup effects are exceptional, and won the film Academy Awards. the Brundlefly is truly horrifying, especially at the film's end when it becomes a mechanic cyborg, fused with the malfunctioning machine that birthed it. Pair that with images of his partner Veronica (Geena Davis) dreaming about giving birth to a giant maggot and you have a seriously disturbing film. However, the combination of Cronenberg's direction and screenplay, as well as Goldblum's performance, prevent the film from descending into typical schlocky fare. Instead, The Fly is one of the most emotionally powerful films ever to grace a cinema screen - and the Brundlefly's euthanasia at the film's conclusion is the most heart-wrenching moment in Cronenberg's filmography.