THE BROOD Review

Overall 4.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

jmdobies
Austin, TX

Cronenberg's Creepshow is Still Quite Disturbing

a carnivore, a writer, somebody's sibling, horror fan, sleep deprived, a music lover, Movie guru, psychotronic genius

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Pros

Creepy!, Disturbing!

Cons

Unpleasant!

FEB

2008

[Spoiler Alert!]

Following a bitter divorce and custody battle, director David Cronenberg wrote and directed this psychological shocker about a woman (Samantha Eggar) whose rage manifests itself by her giving birth to malevolent dwarves who kill anyone she perceives to be a threat to her happiness.

Art Hindle plays her estranged husband, who has custody of their young daughter. This is no doubt very upsetting to Eggar's character, who is currently undergoing radical psychotherapy with the shadowy Dr. Hal Raglan, played by Oliver Reed. Ollie is excellent in the part, but aging fast, graying and a bit bloated from the boozing.

The atmosphere of the film is very '70s, and most Canadian. A host of character actors from the Great White North die badly at the hands of the title characters before the final showdown at the Raglan Institute.

The reveal of Eggar's exo-womb is still mighty disturbing. I was reminded of the Panasonic color televison ads she was doing at the time: "My hair is auburn, my dress is emerald green, and my malevolent dwarf-children are covered in gore that is vividly scarlet."

Available on DVD from MGM Home Video.