The Brood

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The Brood

R

Released May 25, 1979

1h 32m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

A mad doctor (Oliver Reed) tries psychoplasmic therapy on a raging woman (Samantha Eggar) soon to be a mother.

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Critics Consensus

The Brood is a grotesque, squirming, hilariously shrill exploration of the bizarre and deadly side of motherhood.

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Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

One of the films that gave rise to the term "body horror," David Cronenberg's 1979 shocker is a characteristic mix of the sombre, the wacky and the viscerally grotesque.

Oct 30, 2020

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Michael Blowen

Boston Globe

[Cronenberg's] rapid fire direction keeps you bouncing back and forth between laughter and shock with only minor stops for explanatory dialogue and his satirical sophistication never stoops to cheap parody.

Apr 28, 2018

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Michael Sragow

The New Yorker

A cinematic bad dream that generates recurring nightmares.

May 4, 2015

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... a vivid and unsettling metaphor for the psychological and emotional forces pulling a family apart ...

Apr 29, 2025

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

This genuinely creepy and upsetting stomach churner from David Cronenberg offers an intriguing metaphor for both unexplained bodily changes and the mental abuse some parents heap on their offspring.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 31, 2024

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The picture is Cronenberg’s most satisfyingly melodramatic work, fully realized for emotional consequences over typical horror revulsion, and a crucial stepping stone in the advancement of one of today’s most important filmmakers.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 3, 2023

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Cody S.

Another example of a Cronenberg slow build not working for me. I love and live for campy 70’s and 80’s films. Those films know what they are, and play into it, but these films seem like they’re taken all too seriously for the concepts themselves. This film, as well as Scanners, Rabid, Shivers…. Just to name a few, are examples of Cronenberg films that I think could’ve been PERFECT if they weren’t so drawn out and taken too seriously. A little more camp, shlock, gore and such, and they would’ve been perfect “bad” movies. Examples of these that come to mind are The Burning or Halloween 3, even something like Sleepaway Camp.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/25/25

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Kalissa H

Great body horror. A little slow at times.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/23/25

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James M

Totally amateur laughably bad terrible acting no sense of tension. Stupid story not frightening in the least. It’s shocking that David Cronenberg made this. It’s like a made for TV movie. They obviously took some liberties with this script. Reminds me of that one Star Trek episode with those crazy kids.boring.a lot of dead time where nothing happens. It got a lot better with scanners. I should’ve rented that instead

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/25

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Alexandro R

ESTE FILME ESTÁ ENTRE OS TOP 05 QUE JÁ ASSISTIR UM OBRA PRIMA DO TERROR.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/29/24

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k.b. r

Those bloody things wreaked havoc all over the place'/!!!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/26/24

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Alec B

If you look past the surface level genre elements the themes have aged remarkably well (rage, even understandable rage, is a destructive force that harms everyone and sometimes therapy enables instead of helping) Also, while you may not have experienced anything literally like what happens in this movie, break-ups/divorces can certainly feel like this.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/26/24

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David Cronenberg

Director

Oliver Reed

Dr. Hal Raglan

Samantha Eggar

Nola Carveth

Art Hindle

Frank Carveth

Henry Beckman

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Synopsis

A mad doctor (Oliver Reed) tries psychoplasmic therapy on a raging woman (Samantha Eggar) soon to be a mother.

Director: David Cronenberg
Producer: Claude Héroux
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg
Distributor: New World Pictures
Production Co: Elgin International Films Ltd.
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 25, 1979, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 20, 2016
Runtime: 1h 32m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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