Have you noticed that some modern horror movies with all their the so-called “realistic graphics” look nonetheless artificial and not scary at all, while some older films, with the creators relying upon (now old-fashioned) costumes, masks, mockups and raw meat, continue giving us chills? The classic example is Ridley Scott’s “Alien”. It is hard to believe it was shot in 1979, and the crew literally used everything they had near to build up the insides of Nostromo, the hideous face-hugger, the Space Jockey ship and the Alien itself.
“Fly” and “Fly 2” are well known among horror film fans. For me, they stand in the same row as the first three “Alien” movies, “Predator” and “The Thing”. However, it only was three weeks ago that I saw the second part of the dilogy.
They reverse the popular movie trope about a scientist who deliberately or incidentally upgrades himself via scientific experiment to acquire superpowers and give a hard time to a bunch of bad guys. In the “Fly” superpower arrives with hideous bodily and mental transformations that won’t allow you to live in the society.
Those who saw the “Fly” directed by David Cronenberg remember the storyline: the scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) tests a teleport on himself without noticing the fly who flew inside his capsule. Their DNAs are now intertwined, but it will take time for the fly’s DNA to reveal itself and transform the brave man of science into… something disgusting and dangerous. Finally, Seth gets killed, leaving his fiancé Veronica pregnant.
"Fly 2” is the direct continuation of the story, dedicated to his son Martin (Eric Stoltz), who gets confined in a laboratory since birth despite his all-human appearance. Taking after his father Seth, he carries insect genes which one day will show themselves.
While the boy grows up, gets a job and even an apartment of his own, the true motives of his caregivers, teachers and colleagues stay unknown to him. However, Martin gets curious about his own family, his mysterious “disease” that allegedly threatens him and the job his dad was doing. The bitter truth is that Martin is just the illegal property of the research company that brought him up, a prospective biological “super-weapon”. And a small ulcer on the young man’s arm starts looking suspiciously bad…
Though shot by another director (Сhris Walas), the second chapter is no way worse. The visuals are on the same high level and make the viewer shudder with disgust. While looking at the creatures on the screen, you can imagine the smell of acid and rotten flesh, you can feel their pain. I guess that the first viewers of the film left with a much stronger impression. It gave me even stronger emotions that the original, because I love the plots where a victim transforms into a dangerous predator.
In the “Fly 2” the drama element outweighs the horror, its more heart-wrenching than fearsome but stays good in its own way. Besides fear, it provokes deep sympathy for the hero, who is at once good-looking, good-natured and innocent. The role of Martin is played by Eric Stoltz whose acting talent is comparable with that of Jeff Goldblum who starred in the first film.
While in the “Fly” we witness the new story of Frankenstein who creates a monster out of himself, in “Fly 2” we see how ruthless and inhumane the corporate world may be. It may turn people into monsters without actually changing their looks and this is what was creeping me out while watching. And even the huge insectoid mutant cannot be more evil.
The only thing I certainly didn’t like about the Fly 2 was the very ending which implied that the corporation which was Martin’s prison continues operating. After everything that happened within its walls… And it contradicts so much to the message of the film!
My evaluation: 8 out of 10