THE FLY — CLASSIC FILM PICK

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Add David Cronenberg's 1986 version of "The Fly" to the short list of successful remakes in the history of the movies.

Cronenberg hit the height of his Hollywood success with a bold update of director Kurt Neumann's 1958 original that starred the great Vincent Price, who famously became spider bait in the film's celebrated final scene.

From its ingenious pre-CGI special effects and spellbinding production design, to Jeff Goldblum’s sensational performance, “The Fly” is a masterpiece of cinematic horror that escalates to a white heat of tension.

Scientist Seth Brundle (Goldblum) works on a teleportation device when he isn’t courting Geena Davis. Calamity strikes when a common house fly accidentally gets trapped inside the teleporter with Seth during an experiment. Naturally, his DNA becomes fused with the buzzing insect that most people like to delete from kitchens with fly-swatters. 

The filmmaker's attention to details, such as the wiry hairs that start growing from Seth's back, take the audience on an dark physiological trip. Here is the stuff nightmares are made of. Try not to shut your eyes when one unfortunate arm-wrestler loses with a bone-breaking climax. 

Cronenberg weaves surprise and suspense into a taught tapestry of overpowering emotion and shocking nightmare reality. This film's pre-CGI special effects are just perfect.

Gory, gooey, and great, right through to the last frame, this is one horror movie you'll never forget.

Rated R. 96 mins.