Directed by:
David CronenbergScreenplay:
David CronenbergCinematography:
Mark IrwinComposer:
Howard ShoreCast:
Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle, Henry Beckman, Susan Hogan, Reiner Schwartz, John Ferguson, Nicholas Campbell, Felix Silla, Robert A. Silverman (more)Plots(1)
A dark design from the mind of David Cronenberg, internationally acclaimed exponent of psychological horror, The Brood is a chillingly twisted masterpiece of visceral intensity, considered by many as one of the scariest and terrifying films of all time. Dr. Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed) experiments with "Psychoplasmics", a radical therapy designed to release pent-up emotions in his patients. He keeps his best and brightest patient, ex-wife Nola (Samantha Eggar), in isolation. But as she successfully vents her rage and expels her demons during the sessions a series of brutal murders occur outside the institute. What is the connection between Raglan's methods and these monstrous killings? The answer will unleash a whole new breed of terror! This shocking thriller, considered one of Cronenberg's most compelling and unsettling works, explores the inner-monster and how misdirected rage can literally take on a life of its own. (Umbrella Entertainment)
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Reviews (9)
Cronenberg puts all the horror on the shoulders on the “killers dwarfs” wearing children overalls and wielding hammers, unfortunately, it’s mostly gratuitous and not very scary. You can't deny the chilling, bleak atmosphere, but if you can't take the core of all evil seriously, it can hardly frighten you or arouse any unpleasant emotions.
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A depressing psychological aspect, a chilling mystery, bloody murders, a repulsive physiological deformation of the human body, a shock-therapy controversy. All wrapped up in the delicately intimate, gloomy package of Cronenberg’s genius. The Brood is his most intense horror movie.
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Cronenberg elevates this rather childish horror premise of mutant dwarves capable of murdering their victims with almost anything beyond the prized genre average of the 1970s with intense psychological pressure and a smartly plotted screenplay. Unfortunately, as good as it is to watch even after all these years, and the enigmatic figure of the formidable Oliver Reed (why didn't this guy break into the world of big screen movies?! ) perfectly combines a violent, typically Cronenbergian plane with intimate conversational depth, today it's impossible to shake the dust of obsolescence off the story and ignore the fact that little thin-lipped children aren't scary and don't fill the audience's experience nearly as much as the oppressive atmosphere built by Cronenberg, Shore and the cast deserves. 70%
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After second screening, The Brood is one of the more sluggish and lesser satisfactory works of David Cronenberg. Once you know where it's all headed, it doesn’t have the same impact (compared to that, for example, Scanners impressed me strongly on the second viewing). Nevertheless, with its ideas, naturalistic imagery, and chilly Canadian atmosphere, it is still an admirable work, the ending of which will surely be remembered by everyone.
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Except for the finale, it's only a horror film at times (though it's in those moments that its intensity is massive). As I gradually become more familiar with Cronenberg's films, I am slowly beginning to see the "spiritual" in them, and I honestly prefer it to his favorite explicit nastiness, which perhaps some people find daring, untethered, original, and unconventional, but they are the reason I don’t enjoy Cronenberg that much). What I especially appreciate about The Brood is the thorough and impressive expertise (to write just "analysis" would be insufficient) of the originally pure mother who is separated from her child and must live in forced isolation and estrangement from her family. Remarkable, non-mainstream, distinctive, impressive.
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