The Fly: 8 Reasons Why Cronenberg's Body Horror Is The Best Remake Of All Time
On its 30th anniversary we're still afraid... we're still very afraid.
"Be afraid... be very afraid". This simple, evocative quote is deeply engrained in pop culture, words that have gone on to become even more famous than the movie in which they were spoken.
This is one of cinema's biggest travesties as said film is arguably the greatest remake of all time, David Cronenberg's stomach-churning body horror The Fly.
The Canadian filmmaker's take on George Langelaan's vintage tale of terror is a work of powerful metaphor, a masterclass in special effects in an age before CGI was omnipresent, and a tragedy of Greek proportions.
The Fly landed in cinemas exactly 30 years ago, having touched down in the US on 15 August 1986, and to coincide with its landmark anniversary, here are eight reasons why the Jeff Goldblum-fronted masterpiece is the greatest ever movie remake.
8. Cronenberg Put His Unique Stamp On The Fly
Cronenberg's The Fly is only a remake of the 1958 original in the sense that the iPhone 6S is a remake of Alexander Graham Bell's telephone.
If Hollywood insists on continuing its quest to rehash and repackage every film ever made, they should look no further than than the visionary filmmaker's opus for a masterclass in how it should be done.
This was a reimagining from the ground up where Cronenberg put his unique spin on the source material while retaining its essence and paying appropriate homage.
The story follows Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), a brilliant but eccentric scientist who is meddling with groundbreaking teleportation technology. After meeting and falling in love with ambitious reporter Veronica Quaif (Geena Davis), Brundle accidentally crosses genes with a common housefly during a drunken test run of his so-called telepods.
Seth emerges from the pod seeming normal, but what follows is the gradual birth of Brundlefly - a new species which embodies elements of man and insect - and the process is as disquieting as it is disgusting.
Veronica watches on in horror as the man she loves disintegrates before her eyes and insect urges begin governing his mind.
Although the original Fly is an undisputed horror classic (if you can get past that comedic fly head), Cronenberg took the concept of man-insect fusion and created something of greater substance, a multi-layered story that works on so many levels.