Review of Fly, The/Return Of The Fly

Introduction

Readers of this review will probably be more familiar with the David Cronenberg’s vision of The Fly and its subsequent sequel – these are the original films they were based on, packaged together as part of Fox’s double bill range.

Video

The pictures on both films are really excellent, and Fox has done a superb job in remastering them. Both films are presented in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen, with the first being shot in colour whilst the sequel is in black and white (showing it was meant to be a cheap knock-off of the first). On the Fly, the picture is crystal clear and reproduces the colours faithfully, although they do look a little dated now, and especially weak when compared to Technicolor films of the 50’s. Return of the Fly has good contrast between the different shades of grain, and is very sharp with minimal grain. Overall, the picture is excellent.

Audio

The Fly has a 4.0 mix, whilst its sequel has a stereo track only. In both cases, the mix is mainly dialogue centered, with little spatial effects.

Features

A trailer for the film is included in each disc.

Conclusion

Although this is somewhat against public and critical consensus, I found the lower-budgeted sequel to be better than the original (although The Fly scores an extra point for its novel idea). I was disappointed by The Fly, and thought that the highly original premise of the film could have been so much better executed (and indeed was, later in Cronenberg’s brilliantly dark remake). I thought the acting was hammy and the dialogue stilted. The bookending of the main story as a murder investigation, so it is being told in the flashback form, is clumsy and takes away from the suspense. Return of the Fly is, admittedly, much more one-dimensional – basically a monster story – but has a linear plotline that works better. The black-and-white photography suits the sci-fi / horror genre better, especially now as The Fly has dated a lot.

The Fly & Return of the Fly are worth getting if you especially like the films, and have great transfers and good sound. But I would not recommend either to anyone who saw the remake and liked it as they are very different. Indeed, the best thing about The Fly is that it spawned the remake, which is a true sci-fi / horror classic. 6/10 for each film.