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The Brood (1979)
The Brood (1979)
1979 | Horror, Sci-Fi
An R rated version of Inside Out?
Frank Carveth is just a father with some problems. His wife is currently enrolled in an intense, secluded, mysterious form of psychotherapy being conducted by an unusual doctor. His eccentric mother-in-law, has just been murdered through unusual circumstances and his young daughter is showing signs of physical abuse at the hands of his institutionalized wife that he must now investigate.

After the murder, his father-in-law also arrives, the situation worsens as he attempts to visit his daughter while in therapy without success. Still grief stricken, he wants to confront the doctor or at least understand what is happening.

Here is where the story becomes very unusual. The brutality being dispatched to various individuals is being administered by disfigured "dwarves" or misshapen children which makes no sense to Frank or the police which asks more questions.

After learning additional details, Frank returns to his wife's benefactor for a final confrontation with her and the doctor to ensure the release of his kidnapped daughter.

Cronenberg's early body horror films still stand as some of the most provocative of the gene and this film is certainly no exception. The deformed assailants provide immediate unique intrigue in the film representing something you have never seen previously and it only gets worse.

The total brutality they complete upon their victims is worsened by the fact some of it is even performed in front of children who would obviously be scarred for years to come.

The final reveal of "The Brood" is so intense, bizarre and graphic it will still turn off, repulse or offend almost anyone who watches it. Only true fans of the macabre, strange and totally extreme will find this palpable.

The great Oliver Reed is especially intense in his performance as the unconventional doctor performing his ritualistic treatments which include offbeat role plays where he has conversations with his patents pretending to be other people.

I can only imagine the reaction this film had upon its release in 1979.

  
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Brood (1979) in Movies

Sep 4, 2020 (Updated Sep 4, 2020)  
The Brood (1979)
The Brood (1979)
1979 | Horror, Sci-Fi
They're Waiting For You
Man i love David Cronenberg, his horror films are disturbing, disgusting, gory, burtal, horrorfying and terrorfying. All of those words describe this film.

The plot: follows a man and his mentally-ill ex-wife, who has been sequestered by a psychologist known for his controversial therapy techniques. A series of brutal unsolved murders serves as the backdrop for the central narrative.

Conceived by Cronenberg after his own acrimonious divorce, he intended the screenplay as a meditation on a fractured relationship between a husband and wife who share a child, and cast Eggar and Hindle as loose facsimiles of himself and his ex-wife. He would later state that, despite its incorporation of science fiction elements, he considered it his sole feature that most embodied a "classic horror film".

Written in the aftermath of writer-director Cronenberg's divorce from his wife, The Brood has been noted by critics and film scholars for its prominent themes surrounding fears of parenthood, as well as corollary preoccupations with repression and the treatment of mental illness in women.

The Brood is my version of Kramer vs. Kramer, but more realistic." —Cronenberg commenting on his concept of the film, 1979.

In retrospect, Cronenberg stated that he felt The Brood was "the most classic horror film I've done" in terms of structure.

The Brood had cuts demanded for its theatrical release in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. Eggar conceived of the idea of licking the new fetuses that her character Nola Carveth has spawned. "I just thought that when cats have their kittens or dogs have puppies (and I think at that time I had about 8 dogs), they lick them as soon as they’re born. Lick, lick, lick, lick, lick…," Eggar said.

However, when the climactic scene was censored, Cronenberg responded: "I had a long and loving close-up of Samantha licking the fetus […] when the censors, those animals, cut it out, the result was that a lot of people thought she was eating her baby. That's much worse than I was suggesting.

Its a distubing film but a excellent film.