5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.6 |
Remember that scientist that was trying to perfect a matter transportation machine but got fused with a fly when one of the little critters got into the transporter with him? Well, this story is about three of his descendents (a son, Henri Delambre, and two grandsons). Seems the son wants to continue and perfect the machine while his two sons want to get out of the scientist business and live "normal" lives. The oldest son, Martin, decides to take a wife. Martin's father is not happy with this intrusion but finally gives in because he understands him son's needs. They all try to be a happy family until humans used in botched experiments are discovered by the new bride and the police nearly discover the lab while looking for Martin's wife. Everyone tries to get out of there via the transporter but things just don't go according to plan...
Starring: Brian Donlevy, George Baker (I), Carole Gray, Yvette Rees, Burt KwoukHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 7% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Curse of the Fly (1965) is being released exclusively as part of Scream Factory's five-movie box set, The Fly Collection.
Six years elapsed after The Return of the Fly (1959) and when they determined it was time to make another sequel, producers Robert L. Lippert and Jack Parsons decided to go back to basics. With Curse of the Fly, they brought back the Delambres but this time it's father Henri (Brian Donlevy) and son Martin (George Baker) as household scientists who are part of the family's three generations of inventors. Lippert and Parsons also wanted to re-inject a love story since The Return of the Fly had none and may have contributed to its indifferent reception. Curse of the Fly has a great opening with shattered glass flying directly to the camera lens in slow motion. Patricia Stanley (Carole Gray), a semi-nude woman, has fled from the window of her room. She's escaping from a mental institute and must get past the main gate. As she scoots into the woods, the headlights of an oncoming car approaches. Martin Delambre spots Patricia and offers her his coat. They begin talking and he offers to take her to a hotel for the night. Martin quickly becomes smitten with Patricia and she has the same mutual amorous feelings for him. They marry and he takes her back to the cavernous Delambre home in Montreal. Before their wedding, they've concealed secrets about themselves from the other. Patricia had dreams of becoming a concert pianist but suffered a nervous breakdown. Martin and his father concocted a Teleportation Machine with which they can transport humans electronically between their family homes in Canada and London where Albert Delambre (Michael Graham), Martin's brother, has his residence. British actor Charles Carson steps in the shoes of Herbert Marshall, who was ill as the time and would die a year after this film's release, to portray Inspector Charas. Madame Fournier (Rachel Kempson) from the psych ward joins Charas to track down Patricia.
Picnic in the woods for two lovers.
Curse of the Fly is the only film in The Fly Collection to make its North American debut on Blu-ray. (The second sequel has been available as part of The Fly: Ultimate Collection in Australia courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment for two years.) The movie appears in its original CinemaScope ratio on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 from Scream Factory. Contrast and grayscale are solid but not spectacular. Black levels and shadow detail are terrific, though. The transfer boasts periodic film artifacts. I noticed thin vertical tramlines during two scenes. My video score is 3.75. Scream has encoded the feature at an average video bitrate of 36000 kbps.
The 86-minute film receives the usual dozen scene selections.
Scream supplies a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1605 kbps, 24-bit) as the sole sound track. The original monaural mix is in excellent condition with no audible hiss, pops, crackles, or dropouts. Dialogue is clean and discernible. Composer Bert Shefter's original music effectively underscores the action. My audio score is 4.25.
Scream has provided optional English SDH, which can be switched on through the menu or via remote.
Curse of the Fly's locales, some of its characters, and certain plot elements actually remind me of Get Out (2017) and I wonder if Jordan Peele had seen it before making his directorial debut? But Don Sharp's "B" picture isn't close to the movie that Get Out is and remains an average sequel. If you previously owned the four other Fly films and want to complete your collection, you may want to RENT Curse of the Fly first before investing in this box set. It's currently only available in this bundle and unlikely to receive an individual release from Shout! Factory. Scream delivers an above-average transfer that still could have used some more digital cleanup. The audio presentation is superior and the new audio commentary plus two recently recorded interviews should appeal to fans.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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