The Brood Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Brood Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 17, 2015

David Cronenberg's "The Brood" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include the Canadian director's second feature, "Crimes of the Future" (1970); an exclusive new documentary featuring cinematographer Mark Irwin, actor Samantha Eggar, executive producer Pierre David, assistant director John Board, and special makeup effects artists Rick Baker and Joe Blasco; archival episode of The Merv Griffin Show; video interview with actors Art Hindle and Cindy Hinds; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Carrie Rickey. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"Isolation is part of my therapy, Frank"

Oliver Reed is Dr. Hal Raglan, an ambitious scientist who has developed a groundbreaking new technique called phsychoplasmics which allows him to heal patients with serious emotional disorders. The technique also allows Dr. Raglan to establish direct contact with his patients’ minds and partially manipulate the way they think. This way he can direct how their bodies respond to his therapy.

Dr. Raglan’s most important patient is Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar, The Exterminator), whose emotions can be so powerful that occasionally she can completely override the new technique. While attempting to pinpoint the origin of their strength, Dr. Raglan discovers that they could have a devastating effect on other human beings. Nola’s anger outbursts, in particular, are so powerful that they could also temporarily transform her into an entirely different person.

Concerned that Dr. Raglan might be seriously hurting his wife, Frank Carveth (Art Hindle, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) meets some of his patients. As he begins learning more about phsychoplasmics, his wife’s family is attacked and their daughter’s schoolteacher killed.

The Brood has the two key ingredients that make David Cronenberg’s films worth seeing -- terrific atmosphere and creepiness. The subject it tackles is also approached with a familiar degree of seriousness that gives plenty of credibility to the horror. The result is a film that is genuinely unsettling and at the same time seriously thought-provoking.

The film is slow but not tiresome. As Frank gathers information about Dr. Raglan’s technique, Cronenberg gradually alters the entire identity of the film -- the thriller elements are slowly replaced with horror elements and the main characters undergo profound transformations. By the time Frank visits Dr. Raglan’s clinic, the focus of attention is effectively shifted elsewhere.

Long before the final credits appear the viewer knows exactly how Cronenberg feels about psychotherapy, but the film never switches into a preachy mode. Instead, Cronenberg bombards the viewer with all sorts of different ideas and observations that force him to ponder why things have gotten so ugly.

Despite the limited resources some of the visuals are quite incredible. The graphic sequence at end, for instance, is still mighty impressive. In fact, it single-handedly elevates the film to an entirely different level. Hitchcock’s very best films have such powerful sequences that are always vividly remembered when the director’s legacy is discussed.

The acting is very good. Reed is very convincing as the slightly mad scientist whose passion for knowledge has unleashed an evil force. Eggar is also fantastic. Hindle’s performance is somewhat subdued but he is also believable as the looking for logical answers husband and father. The weak link here is the child actress Cindy Hinds, who often looks unusually cold.

The Brood was lensed by cinematographer Mark Irwin, who after The Brood also collaborated with Cronenberg on Scanners (1981), Videodrome (1983), The Dead Zone (1983), and The Fly (1986).

The film’s intense soundtrack was created by multiple Oscar-winning composer Howard Shore (The Silence of the Lambs, Sliver, Crash).

Note: In 1981, The Brood won the Prize of the International Critics' Jury (Special Mention) at Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival.

The Brood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, David Cronenberg's The Brood arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"The Brood is presented in director David Cronenberg's preferred aspect ratio of 1.78:1. On standard 4:3 televisions, the image will appear letterboxed. On widescreen televisions, the image should fill the screen. Supervised by Cronenberg, this new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from a 35mm interpositive at Vision Globale in Montreal. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, flicker, and jitter.

Transfer supervisors: David Cronenberg, Lee Kline.
Colorist: Chris Wallace/Deluxe, Toronto.
Scanning: Vision Globale, Montreal."

Please note that the screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-21: The Brood.
2. Screencaptures #22-28: Crimes of the Future.

The film looks very fresh and healthy. Detail and clarity are consistently pleasing and fluidity is dramatically improved. Depth and especially image balance -- including shadow definition, contrast and sharpness levels -- are also far more convincing (compare screencapture #14 and screencapture #9 from our review of the UK release). Needless to say, the film now has a much more convincing organic appearance. There is a better and more convincing range of healthy colors as well (see screencapture #11 and screencapture #7 from our review of the UK release). In fact, there is an entirely new range of nuances that are more appropriate and healthy. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Finally, overall image stability is excellent. All in all, this is very clearly the best technical presentation of The Brood on the home video market. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Brood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The film's sound design is rather modest, but there are plenty of sequences where Howard Shore's score becomes very effective. During the second half, there are a few action sequences where dynamic movement is surprisingly aggressive. Also, it appears that some additional restoration/balance work has been done and as a result the mid/high-frequencies appear better balanced.

The Brood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Birth Pains - in this brand new documentary, cinematographer Mark Irwin (The Brood, Scanners), actor Samantha Eggar, executive producer Pierre David, assistant director John Board, and special makeup effects artists Rick Baker (Videodrome) and Joe Blasco (Rabid, Shivers) discuss David Cronenberg's early films and some of the special effects seen in them, the evolution of his style, and the production history and unique qualities of The Brood. The documentary was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (32 min, 1080p).

• Radio Spot - original radio spot for The Brood. In English, not subtitled. (1 min, 1080p).

• Crimes of the Future (1970) - presented here is David Cronenberg's second feature, Crimes of the Future, which was restored from a new 4K scan of the original 35mm negative. Director David Cronenberg supervised the transfer. In English, not subtitled. (63 min, 1080p).

• David Cronenberg - The Early Years - in this video interview, David Cronenberg explains how and when he decided to become a professional filmmaker. The Canadian director also discusses his professional relationship with Cinepix, a Canadian company known for its softcore films, and the production histories of Shivers and Rabid. The interview was conducted by Fangoria editor in chief Chris Alexander in 2011. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).

• Oliver Reed - in this archival episode of The Merv Griffin Show, Oliver Reed, Orson Welles and entertainer Charo share a number of hilarious anecdotes and talk about film acting and film financing. The episode was initially broadcast on April 25, 1980. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080i).

• Meet The Carveths - in this video interview, Art Hindle (Frank Carveth) and Cindy Hinds (Candice Carveth) discuss their contributions to The Brood as well as their interactions with director David Cronenberg and the rest of the cast (and in particular Oliver Reed) during the shooting of the film. The interview is conducted by Fangoria editor in chief Chris Alexander in 2013. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080i).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Carrie Rickey.

The Brood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Parts of David Cronenberg's The Brood may look a bit dated, but the film is still very effective. In fact, I like it a lot more than some of the Canadian auteur's more recent films. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from a brand new 2K restoration of the film, which was completed with David Cronenberg's involvement. It is the best high-definition presentation of the film that I have seen to date. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.