The Brood (1979) Review

 

The Brood (1979)

The Brood follows Frank Carveth, who employs unconventional therapy techniques to cure his deeply troubled wife, only to unleash a manifestation of her burning rage. 

Those who know anything about Cronenberg know, when it comes to his horror, he doesn’t simply let things go bump in the night, he also tries to add a social commentary of sorts to make his films a touch deeper than your typical hack and slash horrors. And while this is unmistakably a comment on divorce and the childhood trauma that can lead to and from it, this is more aptly an autobiographical look at Cronenberg’s own acrimoniously dissolved marriage. Which is likely why The Brood feels so personal, if not even a little sympathetic, as it’s a story that deals in grief and the corruption of love in context with the corruption of mind, body, and family. It lays a particular focus down on rage over past trauma, thus where the horror comes into play, begging the question of what would happen if rage manifested itself in sub-human, violent ways, subconsciously even?

And boy, is that manifestation of rage fucking terrifying, in what Dr. Raglan plainly titles them—“the brood” (the horrible prosthetics that cover their faces didn’t make them any less scary either). Something about their unintelligible screeching and hideously deformed features just sends the blood running cold because it always a brutal, scarring death is always around the corner. 

We get solid enough cast as well (which for Cronenberg, is rare), starring Henry Beckman, Nuela Fitzgerald, Robert A. Silverman, Susan Hogan, Cindy Hinds, Art Hindle, Oliver Reed, and Samantha Eggar. Reed, while seemingly cut and dry as the bad guy, gets a deeper characterization that really complements his acting style that, when paired with Eggar, is often downright creepy, and yet sympathetic all the same. 

The Brood, directed by David Cronenberg, is a deeply personal example of art made to reflect life, and in this case, heal from it, tragically detailing the scarier side of marriage and trauma in the film that gave rise to the term “body horror”. 

8.6/10