31 Days Of Hell continues with Andrew's review of The Brood.
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| "No. I refuse to join your church!!!" |
David Cronenberg’s 1979 gut-cruncher The Brood, newly released on an uncut
Criterion Collection blu-ray, is simultaneously one of the Canadian
provocateur’s most shocking and startlingly autobiographical features in his
illustrious oeuvre.
Born out of a
bitter divorce and custody battle, Cronenberg found himself entrenched in, it’s
the science fiction horror story of a revolutionary new form of psychotherapy
known as “psychoplasmics” in which buried emotional traumas manifest themselves
in physical transformations upon the human body. Among psychoplasmics practitioner Hal Raglan’s
(Oliver Reed) patients is Nola Caverth (Samantha Eggar), a deeply damaged and
spiteful woman locked in a custody battle with her husband Frank Carveth (Art
Hindle) over their five year old daughter Candice (Cindy Hinds). Unbeknownst to the three, a series of bizarre
murders stemming from dwarf-like creatures begins to sweep the town. Little do they know just how deep their own
complicity in the crimes run, paving the way for inarguably the most grotesque
and appalling body horror sequence in Cronenberg’s entire career!
As much a form of catharsis for its
director as Possession was for
writer-director Andrzej Zulawski, it’s an autobiographical tale captured in the
moment of the artist’s personal anguish.
While Cronenberg’s films present a cool air of detachment, the
director’s blood runs through every vein of The
Brood, reflecting his own anger and despair over his divorce. While the Criterion cover and recently
released Mondo vinyl soundtrack undoubtedly spoil the coup de grace, it remains
unparalleled in its ability to disgust and unnerve. So strong was the sequence that it prompted
heavy cuts from the MPAA to avoid the X rating and it wasn’t until the US DVD
premiere that fans finally got to see it in all its inglorious infamy. Among the more traditional horror offerings
in Cronenberg’s filmography, it marked the first collaboration with film
composer Howard Shore, forming a lifelong working relationship through every
picture Cronenberg has made since. It
was also the second film of his to be shot by Mark Irwin, who filmed every
Cronenberg picture up to The Fly. Performances here are solid overall with the
masterful Oliver Reed imbuing Dr. Hal Raglan with empathy and patience, but the
real standout is Samantha Eggar as the embittered mother. So snarling with gnashing teeth is this woman
with eyes full of hate and rage, this is one of the scariest female characters
in the history of horror films! Not
unlike Diane Ladd’s contributions to David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, the most controversial scene in The Brood turned out to be Samantha Eggar’s idea and begs the
question just how close to herself the character of Nola really was.
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| "I just love the taste of baby." |
Upon initial release, the film proved to
be commercially successful but was savaged by the same critics who years later
would champion the director’s work. It
would take decades before The Brood would
earn the respect and admiration it so deserves.
While debatable as to which Cronenberg film is the strongest, there’s no
doubt the finale to The Brood is
among his greatest and most daring accomplishments, a sequence which goes
straight to the gut and begins to churn.
It’s also one of the director’s most symbolic works to date, utilizing
the science fiction concept as a platform to describe the transference of
abusive behavior to our children while simultaneously investigating the
phenomenon of acting out one’s deeply buried anger.
Much like Zulawski’s Possession and Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes
from a Marriage, it’s a harrowing and revolting work representative of a
time in the director’s life where his marital status wasn’t all wine and
roses. For pure horror fans of the vile
and bizarre, The Brood serves up the
appallingly brutal shocks without compromise and marks the one time yours truly
actually got physically ill watching a David Cronenberg film. No it’s not anywhere near as good as his
remake of The Fly, but as a spotlight
on the great director in the process of finding his niche and venting out his
obsessions onto a blood and entrails soaked canvas, The Brood is a real jolt that will sting and burn well after the
end credits have wrapped. Not for the
squeamish but not to be missed!
Score
-Andrew Kotwicki
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