The Brood

David Cronenberg once described his 1979 film The Brood as "my version of Kramer vs. Kramer, only more realistic." Most early critics missed the metaphors lying behind the visceral, primal horrors on display, but with the help of hindsight, these themes are far more apparent. Frank Carveth (Art Hindle) is the estranged husband of troubled Nora (Samantha Eggar), who is undergoing radical experimental psychotherapy devised by Dr. Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed) to help his patients turn emotional trauma into physical manifestations. When Frank's daughter returns home from a weekend visit to the clinic sporting bruises, Frank tries to stop her from going again, which unleashes a reign of terror in the form of mutant childlike creatures who kill those who have wronged Nora. This homicidal "brood" is the result of Nora's “psychoplasmic therapy," a manifestation of the emotional and psychic scars she suffered as an abused child, as well as anger caused by the impending divorce. Cronenberg's trademark visceral body horror—of flesh invaded, transforming, rebelling—serves up images that grab the viewer on a shocking biological level, while also delivering evocative metaphors for various aspects of human psychology. The Brood was Cronenberg's most sophisticated and insightful film until his remake of The Fly, which also marked the director's commercial breakthrough. Presented here in a beautifully remastered edition, extras include a behind-the-scenes documentary, new interviews, an archival clip from The Merv Griffin Show, and a new restoration of Cronenberg's quasi-experimental 1970 second feature Crimes of the Future. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)