Review of The Brood (1979) by Josh M — 09 Oct 2009

Early work from Cronenberg that takes a little while to gets going, but packs a wallop when it does. According to what I've read, Cronenberg wrote The Brood both as a response to his hatred of Kramer vs.

Kramer and his own painful divorce, and the anger and bile about the subject is evident throughout the film, despite the fact that the central couple is separated, not actually divorced. But Cronenberg focuses on what it's like to be a solo father figure, and nails down the worry and pain of being a child whose parents are separating, and does both so well that you're willing to give the film long enough to get to the horror that you know is coming.

Surprisingly, what comes is fairly sparse, and while it's intense in sections, it doesn't come close to the level of surreal terror of Cronenberg's later work until the last fifteen minutes.

In its finale, however, The Brood finally draws all of its threads together, spinning together an intensely creepy scene, disturbing and horrific imagery, and the thematic threads that have been working throughout the film into one spectacular sequence, ending in a final shot that's not only appropriate for a horror film, but also as a logical conclusion of the movie's focus on divorce.

It's not that the rest of the film is bad, but it never comes close to working as well as it does in that finale, and it's telling that Cronenberg's later work would be more successful at synthesizing his themes, imagery, and horror throughout and not just in spurts.

Still, even as a drama of sorts, The Brood is compelling stuff, and that finale is definitely a glimpse at the mastery to come.