HORROR 101 with Dr. AC: DAVID CRONENBERG'S THE BROOD (1979): ALIVE AT 45!!!

THE BROOD (1979) d. David Cronenberg (Canada)

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Canadian writer/director David Cronenberg has become so synonymous with the term “body-horror” that when a project is referred to as being “Cronenbergian,” we actually have an idea of what this might mean. Cronenberg has often said that he does not see disease and mutations as good or bad – they simply are – a viewpoint that shows up time and again in his cinematic output.

The Brood, his third commercial genre effort following Shivers and Rabid, represents a huge artistic leap forward for the Canadian auteur, working with a larger budget and name-brand stars in the form of British actors Oliver Reed and Samantha Eggar, alongside fellow countryman Art Hindle. We also see Cronenberg beginning to assemble members of the artistic team that would prove influential to his career: Production designer Carol Spier, composer Howard Shore, cinematographer Mark Irwin, as well as producers Claude Heroux and Pierre David.

It also represents one of his most personal films, cited as an artistic catharsis for his own traumatic divorce and custody battle, themes at the forefront of this sci-fi thriller, where fame-seeking therapists encourage their patients to physically manifest their rage, with terrifying and tragic results.

Met with scorn and disgust upon its initial bow in 1979, The Brood has undergone a dramatic reappraisal as Cronenberg has been accepted and recognized as a visionary artist in recent years, and many fans and critics now cite it as their personal favorite of his works.

Tonight, AC and his awesome panel of guests (Don Bapst, Christianne Benedict, Vanessa Morgan, Frank Merle, S.A. Bradley) celebrate 45 years of Psychoplasmics, the Somafree Institute, and The Shape of Rage.