The Brood

source: The Brood

Trailer—The Brood

The Brood

One of Cronenberg's best films! It has some moments that will stick with you for a while. When the brood first appears and the beatings begin, I was not only disturbed by them, but the way that their faces look was burned onto my brain. I once read that Cronenberg calls this film his KRAMER VS. KRAMER. I think that's very interesting. He's taken the pain that he went through in his own life and manifested it in the physical form of these creatures. I find this kind of creativity to be associated only with some of the more visionary contemporary filmmakers. Cronenberg is that, there is no question. Performances by the late great Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar and Art Hindle are perfect for the film. It is scary and disturbing and should be seen by all horror film fans. I find it to be a sadly neglected classic.

Great and much underrated Cronenberg movie. Samantha Eggar is excellent in important and difficult central role and Oliver Reed simply sensational in the lead. Some reviewers have suggested otherwise, but this hits you from the very start. We do not know what is going on but the drama is so affecting we are swept along whilst we struggle to make sense of what seems to be happening. At turns brutal and tender, this fantastic piece of cinema, apparently made just after the director had gone through an acrimonious divorce, has all the hallmarks of being an angry personal statement, intelligently argued but driven by fury and passion.

David Cronenberg has always possessed a flair for unique and disturbing visions infused with the trimmings of a genre that can be best referred to as "biohorror." "The Brood," his tale of hideous mutant children who do the bidding of mentally disturbed Nola (Samantha Eggar) under the care of new-wave psychiatrist Dr. Raglan (Oliver Reed, with a quietly sophisticated Peter Cushing sensibility), is buffered by fine performances that veer away from camp. In a way, one of Cronenberg's achievements is writing such outlandish material and making it entirely convincing and visceral, as opposed to merely settling on B-movie cheesiness, which I admire. As is the case with most Cronenberg films, here 'reality' is made the most atypical place where man can reside, and the clever script is always one careful step ahead of the audience. 7/10

"The Brood" is one of the best horror movies ever made.Oliver Reed is really memorable as a Dr Hal Raglan who preaches the radical therapy of psychoplasmics which encourages patient's bodies to manifest their suppressed angers.The script is very intelligent,and there are several really creepy scenes.The gore is pretty mild-the scene where Samantha Eggar opens her gown to reveal the sores and baby sac attached to her body and then proceeds to bite into the sack and lick the bloody afterbirth off the baby,is actually the most disgusting bit!All in all if you haven't checked this one yet,try to find it!Higly recommended.10 out of 10!