‘They’re her children. More exactly, they’re the children of her rage...’
David Cronenberg has made a career out of producing – sometimes nasty, always shocking – body horror movies and other random curios. No list of horror directors is complete without the Canadian directors name, and it is notable that as with fellow horror directors Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi, Cronenberg went on to find mainstream Hollywood success (albeit in a way more in keeping with his own ghoulish house style). The Brood was Cronenberg’s fourth film and it kicked off a sequence of movies (Scanners, Videodrome, The Dead Zone and The Fly) that would cement his place in the horror movie hall of fame forever…
Frank Carveth (Art Hindle) can’t catch a break. His wife Nola (Samantha Eggar) is trapped in an experimental psychiatric facility under the care of the mysterious Dr. Raglan (Oliver Reed) whilst people around him are being stalked by weird, squash faced creatures. Mondays, am I right?
The Brood is certainly not the most famous Cronenberg movie, but it might just be the most shocking. It is surprising that it hasn’t endured quite as much as it should. The nightmarish third act really is an astonishingly courageous conclusion that sees Cronenberg stretching his fascination with body horror to a point that is scarcely believable. He also gets the best out of his cast with Reed an imposing presence throughout and Hindle suitably bewildered. Eggar too does a good job in capturing the agonising battle for one’s mental health. All of this is beautifully enveloped by Howard Shore’s screeching, howling score. All tortured strings and haunting melodies.
I’ve never really fancied those earlier Cronenberg movies that preceded this one (Shivers, Rabid and Fast Company) but I enjoyed The Brood so much that I am now strongly considering diving head first into those movies too. As a final thought, if The Brood and Don’t Look Now have taught me anything, it’s to avoid little kids wearing rain macs…