The Fly

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The Fly

R

Released Aug 15, 1986

1h 35m

Horror

Sci-Fi

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Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

75 Reviews

83%

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50,000+ Ratings

When scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) completes his teleportation device, he decides to test its abilities on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a housefly slips in during the process, leading to a merger of man and insect. Initially, Brundle appears to have undergone a successful teleportation, but the fly's cells begin to take over his body. As he becomes increasingly fly-like, Brundle's girlfriend (Geena Davis) is horrified as the person she once loved deteriorates into a monster.

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Critics Consensus

David Cronenberg combines his trademark affinity for gore and horror with strongly developed characters, making The Fly a surprisingly affecting tragedy.

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Jay Scott

Globe and Mail

The Fly is a mass-market, horror film masterpeice that is also a work of art.

Dec 6, 2022

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Patrick Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

What makes The Fly such a stunning piece of obsessive film making is the way Cronenberg deftly allows us to identify with his monstrous creation.

Aug 4, 2013

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Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

Wildly imaginative, gut-wrenchingly scarifying and profoundly primal (not to mention funny), David Cronenberg's The Fly is a movie that whacks you in the solar plexus and leaves you gasping.

Rated: 4/4

Aug 4, 2013

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Howard Waldstein

CBR

Things go from bad to worse, and the climax of the film is as disgusting as it is moving.

Jul 18, 2023

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Nadine Smith

them.

“Romance” isn’t alway the first word that comes to mind when describing David Cronenberg’s nasty body horror nightmares, but The Fly is nothing if not a deeply loving film.

Oct 27, 2022

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Andy Klein

Los Angeles Reader

Cronenberg has layered the story with so many possible interpretations and resonances that one's head swims.

Aug 12, 2022

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Mason M

I think that The Fly is most likely Cronenberg's best. It's his most tragic, concise, terrifying, and grotesque film that features an astounding performance by Jeff Golblum and some the the best special effects I have ever seen. I don't usually react to strongly to grotesque stuff like this, but Brundle's slow transformation kept me horrified more and more every minute. The Fly is everything that Cronenberg sets out to do in his films, and entirely succeeds.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/02/24

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Dean E

Surprisingly good movie with surpisingly good special effects, especially for it's age.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/21/24

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Todd B

Awesome movie, when I was 4. I spotted the Maserati car. Good love story and date movie. Fall of '86. I saw it on cable Comcast, then digital on Amazon.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/15/24

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prawnda s

being an intentional exploitation/b-film, it's of course a little rough around the edges, but it's aged excellently and is possibly goldblum's best performance. i love cronenberg and this is a great example of his expertise in practical effects. the way this film is able to just stick to it's focus and not worry about really any peripherals is admirable compared to the state of modern cinema. its about brundlefly, it's not about a zillion other pointless things. the romance even seems to take a back seat by the end of the film so that brundlefly can stay in the spotlight. it's just a classic body horror reel with a concise runtime, and it very much works.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/13/24

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Brad M

At a run time of only 96 mins, this movie will make your head swim. Great special effects for the time that still hold up. Great acting (even Goldblum) with good character development. It’s a very dark and tense movie with good scares. While the amount sex scenes seem unnecessary and the gore can be a tad over the top I find this a very good 80’s (Horror/Sci-Fi) movie that is a good Out-Of The box Halloween movie

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/08/24

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Alec B

Yes the performances are great and the make-up effects have held up remarkably well but I think the thing that makes the movie endure is that it is ultimately about the horror of watching someone you love die.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/03/24

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David Cronenberg

Director

Jeff Goldblum

Seth Brundle

Geena Davis

Veronica Quaife

John Getz

Stathis Borans

Joy Boushel

Tawny

Leslie Carlson

Dr. Brent Cheevers

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The Fly: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

When scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) completes his teleportation device, he decides to test its abilities on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a housefly slips in during the process, leading to a merger of man and insect. Initially, Brundle appears to have undergone a successful teleportation, but the fly's cells begin to take over his body. As he becomes increasingly fly-like, Brundle's girlfriend (Geena Davis) is horrified as the person she once loved deteriorates into a monster.

Director: David Cronenberg
Producer: Stuart Cornfeld
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg, Charles Edward Pogue
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: SLM Production Group
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 15, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 24, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $34.9M
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Surround

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