The Fly (1986) - Insect Politics

this movie was fucked up

Total genius acting and script

My fave scene. Reminiscent of Laughton in 'Hunchback Of Notre Dame' and John Hurt in 'Elephant Man'.

I showed my girlfriend this film. It really affected her, it scared, revolted and disturbed her. But it was sheer tragic story which grows as his deformed body did. She found it so sad and vowed never to watch it again. Incredible film.

This was both seth and the fly saying goodbye to Veronica. As after this what inhabited that body was not seth nor was it the fly. It was a completely new life form. That had no concept of morality

Utterly devastating!

Utterly devastating!

I like he's still an introvert intelectual trying to make some conclusions out of it. First insect policitian LOL Cronenberg is a genius

Jeff goldbug.

Deserves a remake..

Everyone seems to talk about the themes of losing a loved one in this movie, sometimes even correlating it to the AIDS crisis, but to me another one of the biggest themes of this movie is how insecurity can completely destroy a person.

Seth Brundle very much is insecure and seems to think pretty little of himself from the opening of the movie. And even when he falls in love, the second she’s gone, he immediately begins to think the worst, and his insecurity leads to him prematurely entering the teleporter. The fact his insecurity LITERALLY renders him down to something as insignificant as a fly is really powerful imo. And when Veronica comes to talk and help him, he only rejects her care, which parallels the inferiority someone with bad insecurity would have; that they still can’t trust who may even be their most honestly affectionate loved ones.

I wish more people talked about that aspect of the movie because to me, it is just as brilliantly executed as the themes of losing a loved one.

A brother can dream

They Both were married before 🪰

First time watching anything from this movie... was not prepared for that voice.

That score is so good

You can’t help but feel bad for both. Especially Geena. She just has that sweet and innocent thing about her acting.

Oh insect politics.. like Klaus Schwab...

I grew up watching this on cable back several years back when I was in high-school and was completely unaware of the original until I was in late teens and early 20s, but I had been watching its background and researched their storylines for several years.. it was more than a sci-fi/horror story, but it was also a love story with a horrific tragic twist.

I recently watched a clip from Rob Ager's analysis of the fly. And he didn't mention this scene but what he said immediately made me think of it.

He said, and I'm paraphrasing a bit here: "But what of the fly itself? At least Brundle had some genetic understanding of what was happening to him, but the fly is suddenly thrust into the infinitely more complex realities of a human mind and body. This could be a worse tragedy for the fly than for Brundle himself, at least Brundle had a transition period."

And when I heard that I got a whole new perspective on this film that I already loved. This scene immediately came to mind and I was honestly amazed that he didn't make mention of it to drive the point home. I'll put here what I put in the comments of that video:

You know, the fly's conscious perspective is not something I thought about nearly enough when watching this movie.

When Brundle begins talking about insect politics, and finally says: "I'm an insect, who dreamt he was a man, and loved it. But now that dream is over, and the insect is awake." I get chills every time. But I always just thought of it as him capitulating to his fate and losing his mind.

I didn't think of this as... the mind of the fly that was in the telepod with him, actually taking the light and speaking through Seth's mouth.

After all it was a conscious entity too. We think of it as an afterthought, like its just Seth's mind in there, going through physical changes now that the Fly's body was assimilated... But to the fly maybe it's experiencing the same thing in the inverse. Suddenly it finds itself experiencing the colossal qualia of being something thousands of times larger than itself. How a human might feel if we suddenly inhabited the body of some comsic, lovecraftian godlike being who lives for thousands of years, and experience the complex pleasures of its world that are entirely incomprehensible to us.

It got to experience being one with Seth, making love to Veronica, feeling the rush of being a human and being in love, feeling its own strength make a sort of synergy with Seth's and make him into something stronger than both of them at either of their respective scales. "An insect, who dreamt he was a man, and loved it."

And then that synergy starts to decay, some nightmarish case of graft-vs-host begins to tear BrundleFly apart. Its fly mind cannot handle the expansive madness of human complexities, and Seth's human body is not equipped to handle the visceral horrors of insect simplicity. So the metamorphosis reaches a critical crossing point where now it is no longer the fly's consciousness passively along for the ride in a complex human body and mind... but Seth's complex human mind capitulates and merges entirely with that of the fly, to the lowest common denominator between them, and returns to the visceral and brutal simplicity of the insect. "The dream is over... and the insect is awake."

That really adds a layer of existential horror to this story that I already loved.

Kinda looks like a Star Trek alien, honestly. “Humanoid with forehead stuff” philosophy of design.

This was a GREAT and powerful scene he’s letting her know how we’re sensitive to stepping on ants and killing fly’s but at the same time the fly and ant is preying on us ultimately to harm us the hurt you if you stay line is letting her know DONT trust the insect fn JEFF

Unbelievable.
Everything is great.
Idea, concept, script, directing, both acting, music, photography, edition...

Academy award for best makeup

This movie is BEYOND fucked up what on earth went through Cronenberg’s head

Probably my favorite scene in the whole movie in terms of Jeff Goldblum’s performance. This script was so well-written. The more I think about this movie, as gruesome and tragic as it is, the more I love it.

Wish we got more brundell as the fly maybe have him fight a humanoid mosquito

This scene alone is so powerful and deep. The Fly is awake and Seth is gone.

My crazy brain first read "Incest Politics".

It’s sad that he’s still a more viable candidate than half the people we have today.

this movie is so damn good tho

Her acting is amazing

i love the speechless acting of Geena, its an amazing and truly emotional scene and pretty hard to nailed but the did it awesome

Watched this film for the first time in years last night, and I was crying my eyes out at this scene. Devastating and so sad. Underrated performances from both actors. One of the saddest scenes in film history

I re-watch this movie every couple of years, and it just gets better every time. It is packed with so much dread, tension, and drama almost like Shakespearean tragedy.
Everything fits..the pace, the script, the editing, the makeup, the acting and the music. What a brilliant film.

I love this movie so much. It didn’t scare me at all. It’s more of a sad romance movie

This movie is so powerful as a drama. It truly braks my heart every time I think about it

Feel scared and sad at the same time

one of the greatest performances ever. Classic

He had to let her go. Even if it killed him. You cant keep loving someone you might hurt one day. You have to let them go. Or let yourself go in the process. Love is brutal. I think Arney best said it in Christine. It is cruel. It only thinks of itself. And will consume every ounce of your sanity to attain it.

All of the dialogue in this classic is iconic.

All the actors are in absolutely superb top form on the set,
and Geena Davies is particularly convincing in the final scene.
In some scenes this classic movie seems like a
`modern nightmarish play`.
This `strip` is definitely more than just a horror movie
that relies on shock effects.
Cronenberg really stretches the movie audience to the breaking point.
One of the classic models could have been `The Metamorphosis`
by Franz Kafka.

Seth Brundle: You have to leave now, and never come back here. Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I. Insects... don't have politics. They're very... brutal. No compassion, no compromise. We can't trust the insect. I'd like to become the first... insect politician. Y'see, I'd like to, but... I'm afraid, uh...
Veronica Quaife: I don't know what you're trying to say.
Seth Brundle: I'm saying... I'm saying I - I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over... and the insect is awake.
Veronica Quaife: No. no, Seth...
Seth Brundle: I'm saying... I'll hurt you if you stay.

(Alle Schauspieler treten in absolut großartiger Höchstform
am Set auf,
und Geena Davies spielt besonders überzeugend gut in der `Schlussszene`.
In manchen Szenen wirkt dieser Filmklassiker wie ein
`modernes albtraumhaftes Theaterstück`.
Dieser `Streifen` ist definitiv mehr als ein nur
auf Schockeffekte setzender Horrorfilm.
Cronenberg spannt das Kinopublikum
wirklich bis zum Zerreissen auf die Folter.
Eine der klassischen Vorlagen könnte `Die Verwandlung`
von Franz Kafka gewesen sein.

Seth Brundle: Du musst jetzt gehen und darfst nie wieder hierher kommen. Hast du schon mal was von Insektenpolitik gehört? Ich auch nicht. Insekten... haben keine Politik. Sie sind sehr... brutal. Kein Mitgefühl, keine Kompromisse. Wir können dem Insekt nicht trauen. Ich würde gerne der erste... Insektenpolitiker werden. Siehst Du, das würde ich gerne, aber... ich fürchte, ähm...
Veronica Quaife: Ich weiß nicht, was Du damit sagen willst.
Seth Brundle: Ich will damit sagen... Ich sage, dass ich ein Insekt bin, das geträumt hat, ein Mensch zu sein und es geliebt hat. Aber jetzt ist der Traum vorbei... und das Insekt ist erwacht.
Veronica Quaife: Nein. Nein, Seth...
Seth Brundle: Ich sage nur... Ich werde dir wehtun, wenn du bleibst.)

This scene is one of the best monologue in movie history. A masterpiece.

this scene is so poetic and artful and yet so ugly and horrible at the same time

one of the best movies of all time.

"We can't trust the insect." So well written! "I'll hurt you if you stay." Foreshadowing. Something bad is coming!

One of the best scenes and films ever created!!

The music is haunting

This scene is profound. Absolutely brilliant. His breathing, her pain and trepidation, the sorrow of the inevitable…