Kärpänen

Very nicely done. Intelligently written and beautifully shot, with emphasis placed equally on the characters, mystery and horror. The opening scene immediately sets the bar high and is followed by the smooth unraveling of the web of a great mystery. I can imagine that, for example, Alfred Hitchcock would have done an even better job of filming the screenplay, but that’s blasphemy. Kurt Neumann’s directing ranks among the best of the genre and of its time. The Fly is required viewing for film connoisseurs (30.11.2003)

If I had to compare, Cronenberg's remake is more nutritious in terms of horror properties, full of irresistible filth, but this prequel has a more elaborate story structure. During the first half an hour the director plays a paranoid game with the viewer (is this woman really crazy, or what the hell is going on?) and then, thanks to flashbacks, a horrible twist is revealed, where the brutal murder in the press is not the end of the story; on the contrary, the filmmakers prepare one more surprise, thanks to which the story turns 180 degrees. Some of the scenes are real top-notch horror, I would never have guessed how thrilling catching an ordinary fly could be, knowing that a human life is actually at stake, and it also has a unique science-fantasy dimension. The Fly became an important milestone in the development of cinematic science fiction as a whole. As many smart books state, this is the very first film to use the idea of nuclear fission and fusion, the idea that matter can be converted into energy and energy back into matter, exactly the same principle that was adopted 20 years later by Star Trek and its famous teleportation device. And if nothing else, this wonderful film gives us the revelation that flies like milk mixed with rum :o) (05.10.2021)

A likeable story structure that ends up in enthralment and psychological holes. Neumann knows how to deliver proper nastiness and generate tension, but he’s not very good when it comes to developing the core motifs of the story, so the transitions between each of the psychical and physical stages feel unconvincing. But thumbs up regardless for the unsettling aura of the second half and the effective twist in the end. 65% (26.10.2018)