☆ ☆ ½
The
Brood (1979) – D. Cronenberg
Very strange, very strange. In fact, it is the ideas that writer-director
David Cronenberg came up with that make this worth watching – the execution is
lacking. Sure, the effects are
creepy/disgusting, as we all came to expect from this auteur, but the acting
(even from legend Oliver Reed) is a bit flat and the slow slow build to the
final climax is too dreary. Yet, there
is something in the idea that our anger might become manifest physically, either
as sores or actual projections, that links this to other Cronenberg films and
perhaps to the man’s deeper metaphysical or psychological concerns. Frank Carveth (Art Hindle)’s wife is isolated
in a sanatorium under the watch of psychiatrist Hal Raglan (played by Reed); he
brings their 5-year-old daughter Candy to see her on the weekends. However, when Candy returns with scratches
and marks on her back, Carveth seeks answers.
A few bloody murders later and the truth is finally revealed (in the
final 15 minutes) and it is very strange, very strange. Next up for Cronenberg: Scanners (1981) and
Videodrome (1983) which expand on these themes with even more panache.
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