Edgar Wright Calls this Masterpiece One Of the “Best Remakes”

I’m not one who’s inherently opposed to remakes. When done well, they give a story fresh purpose through a modern lens that can alter the way we look at the source material altogether. Even when a remake fails, it encourages younger audiences to seek out the original and perhaps discover a new favorite. At this moment, filmmaker Edgar Wright’s own remake, The Running Man, is dashing through theaters. Obviously, the director behind films like Shaun of the Dead and Last Night in Soho doesn’t mind a good re-imagining, either. Recently, he even cited a body horror masterpiece as one of the best remakes there is…David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986).

Based on a short story of the same name by George Langelaan and previously adapted into the 1958 film starring Vincent Price, Cronenberg’s The Fly does what every great remake should. Rather than some unnecessary shot-for-shot redux, the filmmaker brought his own signature style of body horror to the gruesome tale. Made thirty years after the original, it completely re-invents what had come before, on its way to becoming one of the most highly regarded creature features there is. If you’ve missed it to this point, you can stream it on Hulu.

What’s The Fly About?

Scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) meets journalist Veronica (Geena Davis) and invites her back to his apartment. There, he shows her what he has been working on…a teleportation machine. Stunned by the possibilities, Veronica decides to document Seth’s creation for what will be the biggest story of her career (much to the disliking of her editor/ex-boyfriend, Stathis, played by John Getz). Along the way, the two begin to fall in love. But once Seth discovers Stathis is still in the picture, he gets jealous and Veronica storms out. Upset, Seth conducts the first human teleportation test on himself. It seems to go well…until he learns his DNA has been spliced with a fly that was in the machine with him. One disgusting step by one disgusting step, Seth finds himself turning into…Brundle-Fly.

What Edgar Wright Had to Say

While speaking with THR about his Running Man, Edgar Wright was asked about remakes. “The best remakes of films or the best new adaptations are where you’re doing something radically different with it”, said Wright. “David Cronenberg’s The Fly is a great example. It’s wildly different to [sic] the 1958 one, but I can enjoy both.”

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

Part of what makes Cronenberg’s The Fly an exceptional remake is that it sheds the flesh of the original story, transforming into something new and terrifying. The 1958 film acts as more of a sci-fi murder mystery in which the audience slowly learns what happened to the victim. But Cronenberg’s version has none of that. Instead, he focuses on the horror of the transformation itself as we watch Seth slowly become something else. Tapping into themes of age and disease, there’s a powerful universality to The Fly. We all fear changes in our bodies and the loss of recognition for the face that we see in the mirror.

Yet Cronenberg’s The Fly is more than just a frightening—and nasty—confrontation of slow death. It’s also a devastating love story depicting the agony of watching someone you care about be taken by a disease that can’t be stopped. Both Goldblum and Davis give heart-wrenching performances that go above and beyond most creature features. Each was even nominated for a Saturn award, with Goldblum taking home Best Actor.

The Fly is so much more than the disgusting Academy Award-winning effects it’s known for. It’s a brutally honest and tragic story resulting in a monster movie almost guaranteed to make you shed a few tears. Stream it now on Hulu and remember…be afraid. Be very afraid.

Don’t forget to read our review of Wright’s The Running Man. And for more recs like The Fly, follow me on Bluesky @werematt. 

Tags: David Cronenberg Edgar Wright the fly

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