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The Fly

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2:02

The Fly

R

Released Aug 15, 1986

1h 35m

Horror

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

75 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

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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Nick O

I love the original Fly, but Cronenberg blows the pants off of it with this ultra-gory, 1980’s creepfest!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/27/25

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Brent G

David Cronenberg is a sick sick man, and I mean that in the best way possible. The Brundlefly is some of the most disgusting makeup and costuming I have ever seen. The slow transformation of Seth to the Brundlefly was terrifying. The performance of Jeff Goldblum is iconic. It really is one of the greatest horror movies ever made. It’s so good, it’s easy to overlook overacting annd sometimes annoying performance of Geena Davis and the story of the creepy ex-boyfriend being framed as the hero. It’s just perfectly done body horror.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/20/25

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Jose A

Classic movie! 10/10 amazing film yes it can be grotesque but The Fly does a great job pulling you in emotionally, the pace is great! every single scene means something , you gradually see that the situation is getting more worse and the tension builds and builds. The music score does a good job making the movie feel more impactful, the music score just starts to sound more dark and moodier as the movie goes on. I love the ending to this movie, I was so invested in this really sad emotional story. If you haven’t watched this movie I beg you to give it a watch, it’s so good! One of the greatest movies you’ll ever watch I promise.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/07/25

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Randy C

The grotesque scenes and the desperation of the characters will make you shudder at the thought of future technology.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/02/25

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Arid S

Well this is just something else, the type of horror and the way this is done, its next level.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/25/25

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Rob A

The missing half star is only because the film is SO gross; some viewers may not be able to handle it. But make no mistake, this is a masterclass in horror film production. It is to Jeff Goldblum what Schindlers List is to Liam Neeson. Geena Davis was great too so kudos to whomever did the casting. An extremely memorable, shocking film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/21/25

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David Cronenberg

Director

Jeff Goldblum

Seth Brundle

Geena Davis

Veronica Quaife

John Getz

Stathis Borans

Joy Boushel

Tawny

Leslie Carlson

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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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