30 Day Horror Challenge - Day 20

A great remake.

The 1986 remake of The Fly is the only choice here. I adore the classic 1958 version, but this film is the only one I’ve ever seen surpass the original in every possible way. I know from experience that it has something for everyone.

I have a long story for you that illustrates just how amazing this movie is. =]

I took a class on film in my senior year of high school. Since the purpose of the class was to watch movies every day, a lot of people took it for easy credit. Unfortunately, that made for a class full of jocks and jerks who were completely apathetic to any movie that wasn’t in theaters less than a year ago. Our first film was Psycho and our second was Easy Rider. It did not go well.

The teacher was someone I consider a friend—she was also my English teacher; this blog wouldn’t exist, had she not made me realize how much I love writing—and she came to me, when everyone started whining about the serious lack of Vin Diesel and Johnny Depp in her film choices. Knowing I was something of a “movie kid”, she asked me to find something that could both hold the class’s attention and stand as an example of excellence in film making.

My mind immediately snapped to The Exorcist, which she totally would have went with, but reality set in and I realized it might offend certain people. I didn’t want to get Ms. B in trouble. I mulled it over some more and decided on The Fly.

You should have seen the reaction from the 97% of the class that was only in there to take a nap every day. They started out as indifferent as ever, but their immaturity sucked them in when Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis started doing it. That whole subplot, as well as the hilariously awkward reactions to it from the movie’s antagonist—John “What’s big, his cock?!?!” Getz—really reeled them in. For the first time ever, these people were actually watching a film in film class. How novel.

Bear with me. The story gets a lot better.

You see, The Fly is a movie that lures you into a certain false sense of security. It’s almost quaint in the beginning, focusing on the awkward, quirky romance between Goldlum and Davis. And then, BAM!, Goldblum’s skin is all molting and shit. When the actual metamorphosis began, people—90 pound cheerleaders and 240 pound football players alike—were all screaming something to the effect of “HOLY FUCK TURN IT OFF I CAN’T TAKE ONE MORE SECOND.”

That is hardly hyperbole. They were grossed out, but clearly hooked.

And then the movie took a turn for the tragic. At its heart, The Fly is a very sad affair. The movie is predicated on a very simple question that resonates with us all: how much are you willing to go through for the sake of someone you care about? When the final moments of The Fly started rolling on that television set, every, single soul in that overpopulated, 35+ person class was watching intently.

The ending worked on all of them. A few girls even got teary-eyed. In the span of 96 minutes, The Fly had lifted their apathy and taken them all through a veritable smorgasbord of emotion: laughter, lust, love, disgust, pity, and sorrow. In the end, there wasn’t one person in that room who didn’t love it.

This is a testament to how, no matter how cynical its audience, The Fly works. Calling the film a “great remake” doesn’t do it the justice it deserves. The Fly is a masterpiece of science fiction and film in general. WATCH IT.

I hope you enjoyed this novel. =P

1. deerylou123 reblogged this from horrorfixxx
2. jeniferbeckham liked this
3. ephemeralbones reblogged this from horrorfixxx and added:

   incredible movie.

4. dancing-in-quicksand liked this
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6. dokholocaust said: I gotta disagree with ya on this one as the ONLY choice. my argument: Original vs. remake of Wizard of Gore. the original is shit. the remake is really clever.
7. horrorfixxx posted this