Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Some horror tapes promised monsters. The Fly promised something worse: watching a perfectly normal man slowly become one.
David Cronenberg took the basic idea from the 1958 original and turned it into one of the nastiest, saddest and most unforgettable body-horror movies of the VHS era. Jeff Goldblum plays Seth Brundle, a brilliant scientist whose teleportation experiment works beautifully right up until one tiny passenger joins him inside the pod.
From there, the movie doesn’t rush. That’s what makes it hurt. Seth doesn’t wake up as a giant bug the next morning. At first he feels stronger, sharper and almost superhuman, which makes the eventual decline even harder to watch.
Goldblum is terrific because he never lets Brundle become just another creature-effect showcase. He’s funny, arrogant, frightened and increasingly aware that something inside him is rewriting the rules. Geena Davis gives the movie its emotional center as Veronica, forced to watch someone she loves disappear piece by piece.
And then there are Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis’s makeup effects. Teeth fall out. Fingernails loosen. Skin changes. Things happen to body parts that should absolutely not happen to body parts. The effects were so good they won the Academy Award for Makeup, and nearly forty years later they still look gloriously disgusting.
If you rented The Fly expecting a creature feature, you got one. You also got a tragic love story, a science-fiction nightmare and one of the strongest arguments ever made for checking the telepod before stepping inside.
The Fly (1986)
A brilliant scientist tests his teleportation machine on himself and doesn’t realize a fly entered the pod with him. What follows is David Cronenberg at his best: tragic, disgusting and impossible to look away from.
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Vault Quick Stats
- Teleportation Confidence: Dangerously High
- Fly Inspection Procedure: Needs Work
- Body Horror Level: Full Brundlefly
- Bathroom Mirror Anxiety: Permanent
- Romantic Weekend Potential: Absolutely Ruined
Fun Fact: Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis won the Academy Award for Best Makeup for the film’s increasingly grotesque Brundlefly transformation.
Extra Trivia: Jeff Goldblum’s most elaborate transformation makeup reportedly took nearly five hours to apply, which helps explain why every stage of Brundle’s decay feels so painfully physical.
Legacy: The Fly remains one of the defining body-horror films of the 1980s because the effects are only half the nightmare. Cronenberg turns mutation into tragedy, and Goldblum makes Seth Brundle sympathetic enough that every new stage of the transformation lands a little harder.
“The machine worked perfectly. Seth Brundle was the part that didn’t come back right.”
Why The Fly Is Worth Renting
Goldblum Makes the Monster Hurt
Seth Brundle is charming enough that you actually enjoy spending time with him before things go bad. Goldblum’s nervous energy, humor and arrogance make the transformation feel like you’re watching a person disappear instead of simply waiting for the monster reveal.
The Practical Effects Are Still Revolting
Chris Walas’s effects team doesn’t jump straight to the finished creature. Brundle changes in stages, and each stage finds some new way to make you uncomfortable. The makeup won an Oscar for good reason, and modern CGI still has trouble matching the horrible weight and texture of what happens here.
It’s More Tragedy Than Monster Movie
The gore gets people through the video store door, but the relationship between Seth and Veronica is why The Fly sticks around. Geena Davis spends much of the movie watching someone she cares about become something she can no longer save, and that sadness gives all the slime and prosthetics real weight.
Rewind or Fast Forward?
Rewind. No hesitation. The Fly gives you Jeff Goldblum at his twitchy best, Geena Davis carrying the emotional weight and some of the finest practical makeup effects of the decade. It’s gross, sad and strangely beautiful right up until your stomach tells you otherwise.
If you like your horror tragic, intelligent and covered in practical-effects goo, The Fly absolutely belongs in tonight’s rental stack.
Rent or Buy on AmazonThe Fly Official Trailer
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