The Brood (1979)

After Watching "The Brood," You'll Think Twice About Going To A Psychiatrist For Anger Management

"The Brood" is a cold, creepy psychological horror film. This David Cronenberg masterpiece was shot against a dreary, snow blanketed Canadian background. Oliver Reed (star of Dan Curtis`s "Burnt Offerings" and a host of Hammer films including "Paranoiac"), Samantha Eggar ("Curtains" and "The Collector"), and Art Hindle (the original "Black Christmas") comprise a stellar 70s cast that provide great performances. There are several graphic, gory murder scenes. One in particular is the controversial clubbing death of a teacher in front of her traumatized kindergarten students.

Oliver is a celebrated, but insane, psychiatrist; his beautiful patient, Eggar, is the subject of his latest experiment. It seems that Oliver has been able to assist Eggar in expelling her pent up rage by allowing it to take on a physical manifestation. A manifestation that proves deadly when everyone around Eggar falls victim to horrible beating deaths. Hindle is Eggar's concerned husband who is not allowed to visit while she is undergoing her "therapy." Hindle begins to investigate his wife's "therapy" when he suspects her of physically abusing their child, Candace.

"The Brood" is a horror classic and required viewing for all David Cronenberg fans. He also directed two of my other science fiction horror favorites, "Rabid" and "Scanners."
March 26, 2008

Cronenberg's Masterpiece

I Watched This Horror Flick The Other Night First Time In A Good 18 Years.
This Movie Is A Absolute Masterpiece. Very Twisted , Creepy You Can Expect That From David Cronenberg Though. Any True Horror Buff Should Have This In There Collection.

My Favorite Cronenberg Horror Flicks In Order Are That I Have Seen

1. The Brood
2. The Dead Zone
3. Scanners
4. The Fly
5. Shivers
6. Rabid

All 6 Of These Horror's Are Classic's The Brood Is The Best Though 5* March 23, 2008

Cannot stand this movie

The Brood is a very boring movie that is disgusting at times for no reason. The strongest point to this movie is the superb acting. Other than that, I found very little entertainment in this one. This is a hard movie to review becuase spoilers can easily be added but I'll speak on it very little. Oliver Reed plays a psychiatrist. One of his patients Nola Carveth leaves wounds on her young daughter during a visit. This results in her father taking action.

Several occurences take place with very small dwarfish creatures commiting murders. The way it played out was clever and original for it's time. It's just that I never really felt creeped out once during this. The creatures are very far from scary. It moved at a very slow pace and was too boring at times. I really don't like this movie. I wasted enough time watching it so my review is done. February 10, 2008

Mr. Cronenberg's rough divorce

I liked Shivers well enough, I thought the Fly was pretty creepy, and I paid 7$ to see Eastern Promises. Ergo I am by no means anti-Cronenberg. However, the Brood is an utterly and unequivacably poor film. If anyone could please answer the following questions plausibly, be my guest--the comment link is at the bottom for a reason. Of course,if you like the film you'll probably just give me a negative feedback vote, but whatever.
Here are my questions (many spoilers) :
-How do the police not notice the obvious bloody handprints on the bannister that one of brood leaves? If they had, they might actually have thought to look for someone small.
-Because the brood are basically 2nd graders and not terribly intimidating, isn't it convenient that all their victims aside from Raglan (who is surrounded) are caught unawares so as to be plausibly dispatched?
-Nola is Raglan's prize pupil and he's dedicated to studying her, to the point of dismissing all other patients. So why does he help Frank in the end?
-If the brood attack who Nola is angry at, why do they attack Raglan in the end?
-If the brood act off Nola's rage, why send Frank in to calm her (which could easily backfire)? Why not just run up, get his daughter, and run away? Or drug Nola?

It's a flawed film and not even a terribly interesting one. What can happen when an inventive yet odd filmmaker is going through a tough divorce. November 12, 2007

Twisted Cronenberg

After hearing so much about this film, I decided to pick it up. After all, being somewhat of a Cronenberg fan, I should have already seen it. Cronenberg always seems to push the enevelope just one step further, and succeeds on many levels. This film is no exception. Its dark, depressing and downright grotesque. There is a lot of style and originality, however twisted and far fetched the premise is, it has a fair degree of suspense, keeping you grounded. This is not as gory as it could have been, however there is enough of a plot to keep this moving with interest. There are a few shocker scenes to say the least and that being the climax of the movie. Several times I found myself in awe of what I had just witnessed, yet always done with the intentional subtle sense of insanity. How can one not be in awe at the sight of a woman ripping out a bloody fetus and licking it? Or a teacher beaten in front of her very young students, as they look on with horror! Cronenberg seems to always put on a nice touch to some strange tales for the time period, and surely a lot of controversy. The acting is decent enough to keep you moving through the slow story line, yet rewards you time and time again, even if the special effects are a bit off kilter. This is a highly effective film that stands the test of time. One of Cronenberg's best efforts. November 2, 2007

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