I Watch Films: The Fly (1958)

 

The Fly (1958)

In Quebec André Delambre is found dead, his head and arm crushed in a hydraulic press. His wife Hélène confesses, but won’t explain. It’s all very odd, and she’s obsessed with flies, asking if her son or anyone else has found a white-headed fly.

In an effort to discover the truth François (Vincent Price), André’s brother, claims to have found the fly. Thinking he knows enough to put the story together she calls Inspector Charas and tells the two men what happened in flashback. André’s a scientist, and his latest project was the distintegrator-reintegrator, a machine that disassembles things and rebuilds them at a distance. He disintegrates the cat but it doesn’t reassemble, though they hear it meowing.

Eventually he gets it to work, and neglecting his wife and child, builds a man-sized version. Then he calls Hélène, refusing to talk to her or let her see his face or one of his hands, asking for weird liquid foods and a white-headed fly.

We know what’s happened; we’ve seen the remake or sequels, or at the very least are familiar with the idea (and we know the tragic ending). So it’s probably not as shocking as the film wants it to be. Nor is the detective segment too compelling as François and Inspector Charas attempt to understand what has happened. It’s not that they don’t believe what’s happened, it’s that it never even crosses their mind!

Watch This: Classic horror, still powerful
Don’t Watch This: You already know what this hubristic tragedy is about, and the effects of the reveal do not convince in the 21^st century