The Fly

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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Critics Reviews

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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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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Audience Reviews

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prawnda s being an intentional exploitation/b-film, it's of course a little rough around the edges, but it's aged excellently and is possibly goldblum's best performance. i love cronenberg and this is a great example of his expertise in practical effects. the way this film is able to just stick to it's focus and not worry about really any peripherals is admirable compared to the state of modern cinema. its about brundlefly, it's not about a zillion other pointless things. the romance even seems to take a back seat by the end of the film so that brundlefly can stay in the spotlight. it's just a classic body horror reel with a concise runtime, and it very much works. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review Brad M At a run time of only 96 mins, this movie will make your head swim. Great special effects for the time that still hold up. Great acting (even Goldblum) with good character development. It’s a very dark and tense movie with good scares. While the amount sex scenes seem unnecessary and the gore can be a tad over the top I find this a very good 80’s (Horror/Sci-Fi) movie that is a good Out-Of The box Halloween movie Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/08/24 Full Review Alec B Yes the performances are great and the make-up effects have held up remarkably well but I think the thing that makes the movie endure is that it is ultimately about the horror of watching someone you love die. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/03/24 Full Review Jim P I saw this back in the 80s and I just watched it again! Wow!!Still fresh, still scary. Go and watch the original from 1958, then see this one. There's even a few sequels!! Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/13/24 Full Review Sams K not perfect, but a very good piece. definitely worth a watch! Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/27/24 Full Review Audience Member Oh how I love this movie. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/05/24 Full Review Read all reviews

The Fly

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Cast & Crew

David Cronenberg Director Jeff Goldblum Seth Brundle Geena Davis Veronica Quaife John Getz Stathis Borans Joy Boushel Tawny Leslie Carlson Dr. Brent Cheevers

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The Fly

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The Fly

The Fly (1986)

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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