The Brood 4K 1979

Admittedly, Cronenberg managed to confuse me as to the origin of his predatory brood. From the scant facts that gradually emerged by the middle of the movie, I hastily concluded that we were talking about homunculi. You know, the little creatures that medieval alchemists tried to breed in the laboratory. But by the end of the movie, I had an epiphany. The version with a dumb horror movie about laboratory monsters fell away.

Everything turned out to be much more complicated for the director. And, admirably, Cronenberg did not make a sharp bias towards mysticism. Rather, he created a different reality, where the conscious and subconscious are so tightly intertwined that sometimes the most absurd seems maximally logical.

I suggest watching “The Brood” not only because of this intrigue, but for other reasons as well.

Reason 1. It is a very tense movie with an oppressive atmosphere, which (alas!) is not present in most modern thrillers and horror movies.

Reason 2. The director has created one of the best metaphors for the origins and nature of evil.

Reason 3. The idea for the movie is largely inspired by the changes in the director's personal life. As far as I know, Cronenberg was making the movie during his own divorce proceedings. Therefore, amateur psychologists (and professionals as well) will be interested in analyzing how divorce affects the human psyche. Here is the material for a whole dissertation!

There are no obvious flaws in the movie. I will only say that it is for amateurs. First of all, because Cronenberg avoids literalness and leaves a lot unsaid. So fans of mystery movies with unambiguous clues will hardly like “The Brood”.