Thanks for the memories!

Nice effects though.

A lot of fun.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Cronenberg wrote and directed this movie after his turbulent divorce and child-custody battle with his ex-wife. The plot follows Dr. Hal Raglan (Reed) who is investigating Psychoplasmics, an experimental form of therapy which tries to unlock patient's deep-rooted problems, and using it to treat Hindle's wife (Eggar). But once some eerie murders take place Hindle sets out to investigate Cronenbreg's psychological puzzle. From The Baron of Blood's early career comes one of his most intense films, highlighted with outstanding performances and gut-wrenching cuts. The Brood is filled with subtle imagery and religious connotation as well as Cronenberg's trademark shocking effects. Submit yourself to the terror. Submit yourself to Cronenberg. S

There's not much story. The killings are creepy though. It's about this ex-husband who wants custody of his five year old daughter from his deranged ex-wife in a psychiatric hospital. In the meantime, dwarves attack the townspeople. It does explain where they came from which doesn't make sense, but I thought the dwarves were the best part.

David Cronenberg films are always interesting, even when they are a mixed bag like this one. Leonard Maltin glibly summarized the film as, "(Samantha) Eggar eats her own afterbirth while midget clones beat grandparents and lovely young schoolteachers to death with mallets." Needless to say, Maltin was not a fan of the film, but what it's really about is a recently divorced father going through a custody battle with his ex-wife, Eggar, who is in a mental institution under the care of psychiatrist Oliver Reed, who has his patients undergoing an experimental treatment. Things get weird when the father tries to cut off contact between his daughter and her institutionalized mother after discovering bruises, when the aforementioned mutant homunculus creatures in little hoodies begin killing the various caretakers of the young girl. As with all Cronenberg films, it's more than a simple straight horror film and contains substance behind the horror, this time tackling divorce, parenting, and possibly an undercurrent of anti-feminism (Cronenberg himself was going through a divorce and custody battle at the time), though I'm not quite sure if the story is an indictment of this one selfish individual female character or if it's an indictment of an entire movement. Cronenberg films are thematically quite consistent and I haven't noticed any strains of misogyny or anti-feminism in his other films, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Also, as with most Cronenberg films, there are elements of "Body Horror," which for those unfamiliar with this horror sub-genre, is not the same as graphic bloody horror, but is when the horror is derived from unnatural graphic transformation, degeneration, or destruction of the human body (think "Eraserhead," "From Beyond," or Cronenberg's "The Fly"). The body horror elements in this film are pretty repellent and will likely turn off most audience members. The film's rather austere presentation will also alienate most horror fans, who are the ones who'd likely get into the body horror elements, which leaves this film with a pretty narrow band of people who will enjoy off-putting intellectual art-house horror. Overall, I don't know that I would recommend "The Brood" to most viewers, but I found it a fascinating and interesting film, despite it's pacing and narrative flaws. FUN FACT! Oliver Reed was arrested by the Canadian police during the production of the film after he made a bet with someone that he could walk from one bar to another without wearing clothes in freezing cold weather.

Nightmarish horror film from writer-director David Cronenberg, an early effort but one no less effective, was critically-panned at the time of its release but has since gained cult status with fans of the genre. A disturbed woman in a custody struggle with her estranged husband over their little girl is one of the in-patients at an institute run by an acclaimed psychotherapist. After her elderly mother and father are both found dead of violent beatings--apparently done by freakishly strong children--the husband believes the cool, imposing therapist knows the secret behind the mystery. Well-made and well-acted, "The Brood" is nevertheless uncomfortably (and unpleasantly) physical, particularly at the finale when the effects become too grisly. However, Cronenberg mounts his scenario meticulously; he knows how to grab a willing audience with his assured visuals, and the film is guaranteed to have fainthearted viewers holding their breath. ** from ****