David Cronenberg's The Brood
Horror Film Starring Art Hindle, Samantha Eggar, Oliver Reed
An unusual and creepy horror movie featuring experimental psychotherapy and bizarre child-like murderous creatures.
David Cronenberg can always be counted on to bring something a little unusual to the mix. Even for an earlier work, 1979's The Brood is not your typical horror film. It may start with a fairly slow pace, but it brings unusual creatures, psychological scares and plenty of twisted gore to make up for it.
Creepy Killers
The story revolves around a married couple, Frank and Nola, and their young daughter Candace. Nola (Samantha Eggar) is currently undergoing experimental psychotherapy, and after their daughter (Cindy Hinds) comes home from a visit with bruises, Frank (Art Hindle) threatens her doctor (Oliver Reed) that he'll revoke visits. The film is a little dated in that his threats of taking her from her mother are largely laughed off, as if a single father and a stable home are so unbelievable--certainly nothing a court would allow.
Before Frank can begin to discover what happens at the clinic, more specifically with his wife or other patients, murders begin within his extended family. What Frank cannot see is that these murders seem to correlate with the "breakthroughs" Nola enacts with her therapist. Instead, small child-like creatures begin to appear and viciously murder those Nola feels have wronged her.
Witnessing the first of these murders is their young, curiously silent daughter Candace. The oddity of her behavior throughout most of the film is one of its more peculiar and subtle charms; right through to the end; her motives (or lack thereof) remain largely unexplained. Not until Frank finally realizes what may be happening does the film reach a climatic showdown involving the bizarre creatures and Nola. Her doctor is torn between his work and the horrible reality, and the end brings some truly gory effects as Nola reveals her true self to Frank.
An Unusual Horror Film
The movie's initial pace and characters may seem standard. It's not until the killers appear that the film begins to hold real promise. The film takes a definite and refreshingly different path, however, when it allows the killer to be caught less than halfway through the film. There will be no red herrings, bad alibis or mistaken identities. It's a bold step for the film to allow these creatures to be seen and studied. It directs the horror away from the unknown 'who' and instead onto the gruesomeness of 'why'.
The Brood maintains credibility as a good horror movie. It has the creatures, stark cinematography, a great score by Howard Shore, bizarre characters and some incredibly memorable and chilling scenes. David Cronenberg films tend to be fairly distinctive; it's curious that anyone should attempt to remake one of his films (The Brood's remake, coming in 2009), but with the clamor for theatrical horror releases, nothing is surprising. Cronenberg's films always promise to be interesting and full of style if nothing else, and this one is no exception.
