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14. The Fly (1958)

October 14, 2009

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91 Comments

  1. Pandastic October 14, 2009 @ 7:37 am

    Always wanted to see this. The remake is one of my favorite horror movie.

  2. algi2 October 14, 2009 @ 7:43 am

    Yeah, one of my favorite films!

  3. E. Coli October 14, 2009 @ 7:46 am

    I’ve been watching some 80’s horror/grossout movies at work lately (I sort mail, very understimulating, I need something else at the same time)and the 80ies fly remake caught my eye just yesterday. And here it’s brought up on my daily cinemassacre! You’re the man, James!

  4. Captain-N October 14, 2009 @ 7:47 am

    The scene with the dog in the remade fly 2 always used to disturb me when I was young

  5. krururaras October 14, 2009 @ 7:48 am

    awesome review as alwasy james love your work :)

  6. pojut October 14, 2009 @ 7:50 am

    Dude, I LOVED this movie as a kid. Even though I was born in 1984, my Dad insisted that I see a bunch of classics from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s so that I could pass on their entertainment to my own kids. The original version of The Fly is one of the first movies I remember watching…as I grew up, I watched it every year or two, and every time I watched it I understood it more and more. If you haven’t seen it, I agree with Mr. Rolfe here…definitely get a hold of a copy.

    http://www.livingwithanerd.com

  7. MaF October 14, 2009 @ 8:08 am

    Never seen this movies, but heard a lot.

    Maby, i shoul try 58’s version, looks descent.

  8. slyy October 14, 2009 @ 8:10 am

    great video james keep it up :p

  9. KojirohSakaki October 14, 2009 @ 8:10 am

    I first saw Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park, and wondered what other movie was in. and came to the 86 remake.

    And I agree. the 86 remake was concentrated on the disgusting effects than man transforming in to a fly, but it still was a nice movie.

    this was a nice review. keep up the good work James! ^^)b

  10. Ed Sigma October 14, 2009 @ 8:14 am

    To think that all that could have been avoided by having a bug-zapper in the lab!

    Like this one, how it’s more of an overview of the whole franchise. Myself, I slightly prefer the remake, but that may only be because I saw it before the original. I like how in both it’s not the usual “how dare he meddle in God’s domain” moralisng like in a lot of those sorts of films, but more like how science actually is, he was on to a good idea, but something just went a little wrong.

  11. JayRam October 14, 2009 @ 8:17 am

    I didn’t realize David Cronenberg’s The Fly was, in fact, a remake until I was browsing through Netflix about a week ago. I’ll be checking out the original.

  12. MisterE October 14, 2009 @ 8:24 am

    That was a great movie. The ending was classic, of course. The remake was pretty good too and its funny how jeff goldblum was also in the remake of invasion of the body snatchers, which was also a pretty decent remake of a classic horror film, although he wasn’t in the starring role that time. The monster madness videos are really cool and I hope you keep doing them each year. Good work james!

  13. kzerog October 14, 2009 @ 8:27 am

    Awesomesauce, keep up the good work James.
    BTW any news on the giant claw?

  14. Hens October 14, 2009 @ 8:36 am

    The little fly should’ve had a human head :(

  15. xdeathknightx October 14, 2009 @ 8:42 am

    Another great review! Have to say I only saw the remake so have to go look for the original version!

  16. pr0phecy October 14, 2009 @ 8:43 am

    I grew up watching the 80’s version of the Fly and I thought that was gross as hell lol..Till this day, me and my friend about the grossness of that movie. But I never knew that was a “remake”. Great Review James

  17. Mr. Arkadin October 14, 2009 @ 8:44 am

    Curse of the Fly… THAT’S the one the scared the shit out of me as a kid and has haunted me ever since, though I had no idea what the name of the film was… That awful bed that turns people into play-dough and mushes them together – yick!

    Awesome. Thanks, James.

  18. DerGolem October 14, 2009 @ 8:47 am

    Great review James. I love the 86 Cronenberg version of the fly but agree that the original was “ahead of its time.” People do seem to confuse the original Fly with the B-movie sequel and thus dismiss it. I’m glad that we’re in the 50s now which was one of my favorite monster movie time periods.

  19. Laika October 14, 2009 @ 8:47 am

    Up at 5 in the morning, eating Skittles, watching Monster Madness.

    I have to say that these kind of movies involving a person morphing or being genetically altered always freak me out more than the ones with a lot of blood. I don’t think I have to worry about encountering a man-fly hybrid anytime soon, but if I did, I would probably lose it. Flies are such creepy, parasitic creatures to begin with.

  20. lolwtfpat October 14, 2009 @ 8:48 am

    I think I’d shit myself if I saw a fly like that O_o

  21. robopenis October 14, 2009 @ 8:49 am

    i thik the girl from the first fly move-y was in an three stuges ep kek it back-ster fly WOOOWOOOOQOOOfinger-nale

  22. Chie October 14, 2009 @ 8:52 am

    The 1986 version of “The Fly” is one of my all time favourites, I’m a massive Chronenberg fan. What makes the film good for me was the emotional weight. I’ll admit I avoided the original for a long time, most of what I had seen of it was actually from Return of the Fly and even the infamous “HELP MEE! HELP MEEE!” ending was from the sequel. When I saw the original version I was pleasantly surprised. It actually stuck fairly close to the short story, more than any other version. To quote one of my favourite reviewers the 1986 version isn’t really so much a remake or even an adaptation of the short story, but rather “An even [more] twisted, romantic version of Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis.’” Which I think is an apt description. Chronenberg actually didn’t like the original, and hasn’t acknowledged the short story, so in some ways its not fair to call it a ‘remake’ so much as his own take on the concept of the teleportation theory and the mutation of scientist to fly.

    For horror fans, I recommend both. I do like the 1986 version better, but trust James & I: The original “Fly” isn’t the goofy ‘Fly guy run amok’ movie most people think it is.

  23. robopenis October 14, 2009 @ 8:53 am

    shoot-gun face i love the movie …..it shows how some-one can go into mad-ness for a goal

  24. PoGo October 14, 2009 @ 8:55 am

    Good review of a good movie, and you gotta love the Ninja Turtles reference ;)

    PoGo…

  25. Cyril ViXP October 14, 2009 @ 8:59 am

    Wow! The Fly! At last!!!

  26. THE T V1RUS October 14, 2009 @ 9:02 am

    The Misfits actually wrote a song called Return of the Fly which is another inspiration from the movie. Good review, and next should be THE BLOB!

  27. Filmmassacre October 14, 2009 @ 9:14 am

    Awsome review james
    i have only own the orginal Fly and the sequel “Return of the Fly” but the original fly was mutch better and it really is one of the best scifi movies ever made!
    Keep up the good work!

  28. KojimaMetalGearfan October 14, 2009 @ 9:18 am

    The episode of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon where Baxter Stockman got turned into a fly was “Enter The Fly” where Baxter Stockman was thrown into a disintegration unit and a fly got in there with him, and cross mutated him into a fly!

    And the whole portion of that episode was centered around the 1986 remake of “The Fly” from 1958.

  29. Juanako25 October 14, 2009 @ 9:20 am

    When you talked about the spoofs I really thought you were gonna mention the “Treehouse of Horror” episode from The Simpsons in which Homer buys a teleportation machine in a flee market and Bart suffers the same fate as the scientist from the original movie. :-)

  30. Professor_Ender October 14, 2009 @ 9:21 am

    Very swanky. ^_^

    The original “The Fly” was awesome, and still has one of the greatest movie endings ever filmed.

    I did wish that there was a separate entry for the Cronenberg remake though — that’s easily in my Top 5 Horror Movies. But that’s just a nitpick, and this review still kicks ass.

  31. Runaway81 October 14, 2009 @ 9:25 am

    Baxter Stockman has one evil laugh!

  32. mestre12 October 14, 2009 @ 9:37 am

    i have to said i saw first fly 2 the 80 version and i fink was ok
    then i saw the the fly of 86 and damd good man its was so gross and so great i love this movie

    but this version is really good i have to say its the first time o know the 86 version is a remake for a good movie of the 50 and a great one really have a future vision for his time

    great review James

    who about you make a review for classic one and one of the most best bird from 1968

  33. RocketeerRaccoon October 14, 2009 @ 9:41 am

    I hope Teleportation gets invented but doesn’t carry the problems of turning people into flies. =s

  34. nick311xx October 14, 2009 @ 9:55 am

    Great review James. @Junako25 yes, that episode was Hilarious

  35. Scary German Guy October 14, 2009 @ 9:59 am

    I also watched the 1986 version of The Fly as a kid.
    Chie’s comment about the emotional weight of the film…that’s an understatement.
    It shook me to my core it did. (I probably saw it a little too young, lol)

    It’s amazing how you can relate to, or at least feel empathy towards a Sci-Fi situation that’s complete fiction….the mark of a Great Director, Great acting, great script!

    And all I remember about ‘The Fly II’ was feeling bad for Eric Stoltz’ poor damn dog…

  36. Worebit October 14, 2009 @ 10:01 am

    Wiee! i have a pet that is a fly his name is the fly ^^ real nice pet but annoying time to time …maybe i should start cleaning around here but there is way too much work for that.

    Have only seen the fly 2 from 89 and finally got my hands on the fly from 86 but havent seen it yet :P

  37. Blood Pump October 14, 2009 @ 10:14 am

    The Fly (Original and Remake) is awesome.

    I did like the remake with Goldbloom more then the original, but that is probably only because I saw the remake first. Both are fantastic movies though.

    The sequels on the other hand, not so much. The sequel to the original was okay in that b-movie way, but the sequel to the remake was abysmal. Again though, that’s just me.

  38. andywagz October 14, 2009 @ 10:27 am

    these have all been a lot of fun to watch so far. thanks james.

  39. Ithilgore October 14, 2009 @ 11:21 am

    The Fly (1986) is an outright masterpiece, and while I only saw the original once, and itwas when I was quite young, I remember enjoying it a lot.

    Shame about the sequels to both, though.

  40. DPrinny October 14, 2009 @ 11:35 am

    The first Fly film is still a film I turn on the TV for when ever its on

  41. Sirius October 14, 2009 @ 11:36 am

    Awesome! I’ve been waiting for this one.

    On the other hand, I would recommend The Fly 2. Pretty good sequel for what it is.

    Speaking of which, I’ve just seen Mystery of the Wax Museum and House of Wax thanks to you and I must say I think I preferred the original 1933 a bit more.
    It’s also quite interesting to see how some of the exact same lines are reenacted in the 1953 version.

    Keep it up!

  42. EvilGoddess October 14, 2009 @ 11:42 am

    I havent seen the original, but it does look worth watching.

    I love the 80s movie though, and ashamed to say i never really knew it was a remake until much later on.

    But oh man….the sequel to the 80s version has such disturbing scenes, that they are just implanted into my brain…the dog…the ending…thay tried so hard to make it scary, that it just fucking grossed me out to the point of feeling ill.

    but anyway good review, definatly going to check it out.

  43. mojo October 14, 2009 @ 12:04 pm

    If you can handle it, check out this deleted scene from a remake (which IMO is million times better than the original and not only in special effects).

    http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=19798

  44. Samhain October 14, 2009 @ 12:07 pm

    I love The Fly!
    Got the DVD lying around somewhere here, I gotta watch it again this week.
    I only saw the original from ‘58 and I didn’t even know there existed a remake until a month ago, but I gotta check that one out too.
    @THE T V1RUS
    “Return of the flyyyyy, with Vincent Priiiice, yeah return of the flyyy…”
    Gotta love the old Misfits.
    While we’re at it:
    I remember James having The Misfits listed under Music on MySpace. When I first read it, I thought: “Holy shit, James really is one of the coolest guys ever.”

  45. tregdor October 14, 2009 @ 12:14 pm

    Omg I am disappointed that a movie nerd like you James didn’t know that Simpsons made a spoof on this movie in one of their treehouse of terror episodes….. :D

  46. uuuuuuuuu October 14, 2009 @ 1:02 pm

    really really awesome.

  47. Slayer of 100 October 14, 2009 @ 1:21 pm

    I’ll always remember Jeff as Seth Brundle.

  48. ReesiePuffs October 14, 2009 @ 1:30 pm

    The Simpsons also made a Treehouse of Horror episode that spoofed The Fly.

  49. Viper October 14, 2009 @ 1:38 pm

    Great stuff ! I liked the original but i love the remake. It has strong acting and some great special make up effects that work so much better than the CG crap of today.

  50. horrorfanboy October 14, 2009 @ 2:11 pm

    Excellent video, James. One of my favorite Monster Madness 2009 videos so far along with “House of Wax.” I love how you reviewed the remake as well.

  51. Jigglysaint October 14, 2009 @ 2:37 pm

    “Wiee! i have a pet that is a fly his name is the fly ^^ real nice pet but annoying time to time …maybe i should start cleaning around here but there is way too much work for that.”

    Haha, so true. I’ve had ants, crickets, dragonflies, and a wasp come visit me at my computer. In fact that one wasp kept flying back and forth around me, and yet never tried to sting me once.

  52. rashktah October 14, 2009 @ 3:41 pm

    Loved the modern ‘Fly’, great movie. I wonder if you’ll touch up some werewolf movies (’The Howling’ or ‘An American werewolf in London’ maybe?) in your MM3…?

  53. Mr.Huggles October 14, 2009 @ 3:41 pm

    you know, if/when science does create teleportation i think you could expect that some many tests would be done wherein they try teleporting multiple things at the same time. like 2 living things, or 2 inanimate things. a dead animal with a living animal, living animal with an inanimate object, dead animal with inanimate object, and well you get the picture. there would probably be many tests that would either put it as being safe or unsafe for use by people. but if they found that you could mix 2 or more different things together then you might see some pretty fun, interesting, and probably inhuman results (similar to product testing on animals).

  54. Jacob Kaiju October 14, 2009 @ 4:24 pm

    Another good review. Yeah, I remember the original film alot. I do agree that the remake was mostly gross-out FX, though the heart of the original was still there. Also, it was mostly about the fear of aging…somehow.

  55. tomc1980 October 14, 2009 @ 4:53 pm

    This is an awesome movie keep em comin James.

  56. Bigred2989 October 14, 2009 @ 5:28 pm

    You forgot about “help me! help me!”. That scene haunted me for weeks when I saw this movie as a kid.

  57. Pete09 October 14, 2009 @ 5:30 pm

    I loved the Goldblum version, and I recently saw the original with Vincent Price which was brilliant also (I found it quite nightmare-ish)

    Seeing good ol’ Baxter Stockman makes me want to watch the Turtles, but I can’t find anywhere decent to watch it online:( Damn You James!!!

  58. MeronRamune October 14, 2009 @ 5:36 pm

    Didnt know the 1986 one was a remake.Need to check out the original ASAP.

  59. Redfish12X October 14, 2009 @ 5:52 pm

    You’ve done a few bad ones this time around (or at least mentioned them, as you did with the sequels to the Fly here). I hope Plan 9 From Outer Space is next – I’d love to see your comments on it. It was Bela Lugosi’s last film, and it aired posthumously. It had a double of him in it (as he died during the making of the movie) and it shows.

    But that’s not why it’s the worst movie I’ve ever seen. It might be the worst movie anybody’s ever seen.

    Oh, and this might be a little too “recent” to mention, but when we get to the latter, more modern years in Monster Madness 3 – I think you should touch upon the Blair Witch Project.

  60. Redfish12X October 14, 2009 @ 5:53 pm

    Also, I forgot to mention – great review of the Fly series.

  61. Mike Matei October 14, 2009 @ 5:55 pm

    Redfish, James already reviewed Plan 9 From Outer Space. Watch the Alien Invader videos

  62. BananaJane October 14, 2009 @ 6:06 pm

    Now I’m curious.
    Was the entire concept of a teleporter originally conceived for The Fly?

  63. smb3 October 14, 2009 @ 6:43 pm

    hi mike great at being bugs bunny. and jamse good vid

  64. itscmillertime October 14, 2009 @ 6:46 pm

    I agree,the fly is a masterpiece. Heelllllllp me hellllllllp me. I actually was just playing turtles in time last weekend with my brother and made a comment about how funny it is that the first boss, baxter stockman, was pretty much the exact same character as the guy from the fly. Anyway i love the reviews. keep ‘em coming.

    Oh and i saw “The Fly II” when i was about 8. It more grossed me out than anything. I don’t remember the plot at all, just that the fly was this huge blob of a monster.

  65. rjoyadet October 14, 2009 @ 6:56 pm

    Thanks Mike, speaking of Alien Invader videos, I noticed that series had footage from Forbidden Planet I was surprised James didn’t mention F.P. in this season of Monster Madness. I guess it is because it is more of a science fiction movie than a monster movie. That’s cool.

  66. Optics October 14, 2009 @ 7:10 pm

    Ah the Fly! A true classic. The remake isn’t that bad either.

  67. yogafire October 14, 2009 @ 8:21 pm

    Teleportation Is No Longer Science Fiction… It’s Science Fact… In A Lab In A University (can’t remember which one) Scientist Have Managed To Teleport A Photon… There Currently Working On Teleporting A Molecule… But Not The Molecule Itself But The Propeties Of That Molecule… To Do That With A Human Using Today Best Internet Connection Would 15,000,000,000 Years.

  68. smb3 October 14, 2009 @ 8:43 pm

    the remake had a litle to much nude scenes

  69. Violenzia October 14, 2009 @ 9:23 pm

    Hey, I’ve actually seen this one. I remember seeing “The Fly” listed on TV a while back and thinking it was the nowadays more known 80’s version. It wasn’t, but to my surprise the original version was alot better than I expected it to be, and I remember thinking “was this really made in the 50’s?” because as you say, it’s ahead of its time. I’d recommend anyone who hasn’t seen it to give it a watch.

  70. Alex October 14, 2009 @ 9:29 pm

    I didn’t see the first fly but i really like the remake. The premise questionable though. Another animal going into the device with him changes his body and combines him with that entity. But if the fly wasn’t with him in the machine, wouldn’t this have happened with any of the other billions of micro-organisms covering his body? Why wouldn’t he become half man half bacteria? Does either movie explain this?

  71. Karate Kid Icarus October 14, 2009 @ 9:35 pm

    Damn these sorts of movies always scaring people away from technology.

    These movies do on the other hand make people rethink a few things though…like putting a screen door on your Teleporter or lacing it with deet.

  72. BlueGemini October 14, 2009 @ 9:56 pm

    That’s an interesting review, James :D I didn’t even know that there’s an original movie way back other than the 1986 version.

    Nice video! Thanks!

  73. cpe007 October 14, 2009 @ 10:21 pm

    The transition from original to remake is similar to The Thing. Anyone else notice that? Anyway, the scientist could you some bug spray handy.

  74. Shared Items – 14 October 2009 | Zawarudo.com October 14, 2009 @ 10:24 pm

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  75. JarkkoG October 15, 2009 @ 2:31 am

    Hilarious stuff that original sequel Fly Helmet thingy :D

  76. wimmywoo October 15, 2009 @ 3:01 am

    I remember seeing the 80’s version when i was young and getting really freaked out at the arm wrestling scene. Wow, i never wanted to arm wrestle again.

  77. Iron Tiger October 15, 2009 @ 4:16 am

    I first saw the remake in middle school but the original looks better to me. I should check it out.

  78. Martin Ekdahl October 15, 2009 @ 4:44 am

    I first saw the Jeff Goldblum version and found it OK, even if I liked the remakes of “The Thing” (1982) and “Bodysnatchers” (1993) better. The story has it’s parallels in literature, movies and folklore. For example in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, Gaston Leroux’s “The Phantom of the Opera” and the French fairytale “The Beauty and the Beast”.

  79. MaximumRD October 15, 2009 @ 6:44 am

    Out of curiosity I just watched The Curse of the Fly on youtube as I also had not seen it since I was a child. I enjoyed this lesser known entry in the series, I can faintly remember seeing it originally and really though it does not have a Fly creature per say it does well for a low budget movie of the time.

  80. Hapistorique2 October 15, 2009 @ 7:24 am

    Do anyone remember the episode of “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” where a guy turns into a fly because of a teleportation machine like this one?

  81. Necramonium October 15, 2009 @ 10:41 am

    The Fly II was a messed up sequel, the scene with the dog where it went wrong was messed up.

  82. psamathos October 15, 2009 @ 9:06 pm

    Great reviews, the original movie is one of my favourites. I’ve never seen the remake, maybe I’ll take a look at it closer to Halloween.

    Did you know there was also a The Fly opera by Howard Shore? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_%28opera%29
    Unfortunately, there’s no recording.

  83. therandygoat October 15, 2009 @ 9:53 pm

    The 1986 remake is one of my favorite movies of all time, just like the “The Thing” remake. 80s remakes kicked ass.

    I’ve been meaning to see the original and after seeing this, I’ll definately check it out. Thanks James, you’re my hero.

  84. therandygoat October 15, 2009 @ 9:55 pm

    Necramonium, I believe you are talking about the remake, not the sequel. There is a very memorable scene with a dog in it, also seen in this review. Might sound weird, but that scene was always more heartbreaking than gross to me.

  85. MaximumRD October 16, 2009 @ 7:16 am

    @therandygoat

    Seems specifically he is referring to the sequel to the remake. Eric Stoltz plays the son of Jeff Goldblums character in the remake. As the son of “Brundelfly” he is monitored closely in a facility, one night he sneaks around the facility and discovers the dog used in an unsuccessful experiment, an attempt to perfect the process his dad was working on in the remake of the FLY. Overall the FLY II was pretty poor sequel to the remake with Jeff Goldblum, they should of just left it alone……….

  86. MetalGearSonic October 16, 2009 @ 1:42 pm

    Exellent as usual James.
    The Misfits have a song called “Return Of The Fly”.

  87. scythemantis October 18, 2009 @ 7:20 am

    Been a viewer for years but never commented before; this one finally drew me out. The Fly is my VERY favorite horror monster, in any interpretation. I’ve been the (or at least A) fly for multiple Halloweens, I have at least a dozen action figures of fly people (from official movie figures to Baxter and generic knockoffs) and one of the main characters of my flash series is a fly-head.

    Even cramming them all into one video, you summarized them excellently. I’m even fond of The Fly II, though not near as much as its predecessor or the original. I’ve heard that they’re planning yet another remake, and I don’t see why anybody would feel the need but I’ll probably go see it anyway. Hopefully it’s a whole new take on the idea and not an attempt at a retread.

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  89. myk1217 October 21, 2009 @ 6:46 pm

    The 1986 version was the one I was familiar with as a kid. The effects were so grusome, I refused to eat for like two whole days.

  90. robvorhees October 21, 2009 @ 10:50 pm

    I remember seeing the original first fly when I was 7. Then seeing the Fly and Fly 2 remake when I was about 10.

  91. armbusk November 6, 2009 @ 3:22 pm

    how sad for me the fly is named andré and guess what its my real name god the fuck i hate my name

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