Canada 1979 Directed by David Cronenberg. Starring: Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle.

It happened strange things in the famous psychiatrist Dr. Hal Raglan´s clinic. Frank Carveth´s mentally disturbed wife Nola, is admitted there since a while and undergoes intensive therapy. Frank isn´t allow to visit her during the hard period. It´s only the daughter who´s permitted to go and see her over the weekends. When Frank picked up his daughter after a visit, is he find peculiar bite and scratch marks on her back. The taciturn girl doesn´t want to tell him how she got her marks, and when Frank tries to forbid that she meeting her mother, threatens Dr. Raglan that Nola can suffer serious injuries if she can´t see her.

In the meantime is it someone who kills the families friends and relations. What freak is it in Santa Claus red jacket who runs around and clubs down innocent people, and is it the mother who´s the pussy-cat. There are many questions, and you maybe get the answers when you look at the film. Because I won´t tell them.

"The Brood" is an early David Cronenberg flick, and the first where he uses well known actors, Oliver Reed and Samantha Eggar. It follows the same pattern as his other shockers, namely that the terror comes from within the body. But for being Cronenberg is he unusually moderate here. He holds back with his straining after effects right to the ending. Then comes everything. The finale where Nola expose her secret is I´m damned among the most disgusting I´ve seen. Have the vomit bags ready. If it not been for the end had I presumably forgotten "The Brood". The film has dark gray gloomy colors, and there are no one who´re a sight for sore eyes. It isn´t pretty thrilling until the end (with the exception of the first killing), but it quite not enough. Yet I consider "The Brood" to be one of Cronenberg´s best pictures. Then you maybe understand that he isn´t my favorite director.

Kent Palmgren

Thrilling Movie Review