The Fly

Devil's Advocates #28

by Emma Westwood

It's not often that a remake outshines its original but David Cronenberg's "reimagining" of The Fly (1986) is one of those rare exceptions. Equal parts horror, science fiction, and romance, The Fly takes the premise of its 1958 original--a man unintentionally fusing with a housefly during an experiment in teleportation--and reinterprets the plot as a gradual cellular metamorphosis between these two organisms.

This book teases out the intricate DNA of The Fly and how it represents the personalities of many authors, including a distinguished history of Man-as-God tales stretching back to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818). Drawing from interviews with cast, crew, film commentators, and other filmmakers, Emma Westwood interlaces the "making of" travails of The Fly with why it is one of the most important examples of master storytelling ever committed to screen.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror

134 pages, Paperback

Published November 6, 2018

About the author

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Reviews

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but reasonably insightful look at one of Cronenberg's best films, though Westwood perhaps admires it a tad more than it really deserves (e.g. she seems to have no problem with its ridiculous science). Most interesting when it talks about background and context (e.g. the original story and film, Cronenberg's earlier movies), less so when it engages directly with the film itself, in that it tends primarily to describe the film more than to analyze it. Nevertheless, wll worth reading for fans of Cronenberg and of this movie.