The Brood (1979)

A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg

Stars:

Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oliver Reed	...	Dr. Hal Raglan
Samantha Eggar	...	Nola Carveth
Art Hindle	...	Frank Carveth
Henry Beckman	...	Barton Kelly
Nuala Fitzgerald	...	Juliana Kelly
Cindy Hinds	...	Candice Carveth
Susan Hogan	...	Ruth Mayer
Gary McKeehan	...	Mike Trellan
Michael Magee	...	Inspector
Robert A. Silverman	...	Jan Hartog (as Robert Silverman)
Joseph Shaw	...	Coroner
Larry Solway	...	Lawyer
Reiner Schwarz	...	Dr. Birkin
Felix Silla	...	Creature
John Ferguson	...	Creature

Storyline

A man's wife is under the care of an eccentric and unconventional psychologist who uses innovative and theatrical techniques to breach the psychological blocks in his patients. When their daughter comes back from a visit with her mother and is covered with bruises and welts, the father attempts to bar his wife from seeing the daughter but faces resistance from the secretive psychologist. Meanwhile, the wife's mother and father are attacked by strangely deformed children, and the man begins to suspect a connection with the psychologist's methods.

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Plot Keywords:

body horror | 1970s | hypnosis | domestic violence | traumatic event | 

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Taglines:

They're Waiting... For You!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Ninhada

Filming Locations:

454 Avenue Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD1,400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC), Elgin International Films Ltd., Mutual Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Samantha Eggar's last big role before this was playing Anna in "Anna and the King"; the TV show adapted from the hit Broadway show "The King and I"; opposite Academy Award winner Yul Brynner.

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Goofs

Just after the first murder, the deformed/mutant child who committed it leaves very large, bloody handprints on the stair railing just near the dead body. These handprints are never mentioned again, in particular by the police, who insist later that they were "never looking for anything that small." It would have been impossible to miss these handprints at the crime scene, and such child-sized handprints would have certainly tipped off the police in a different direction upon discovery.

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Quotes

Jan Hartog: That's my Second Heart.

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to Dr. Denton: Sleepware.

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Alternate Versions

The 2005 R2 UK DVD by Anchor Bay, features the 92min Unrated Cut (in addition to the 88min UK edited cut). This is the first time the Unrated Cut has been released in the UK on a home entertainment format, and includes an additional 28 seconds of footage from the ripping and licking of the foetus, the mallet murder of the old lady and shots of the dead schoolteacher's battered face.

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Connections

Featured in The Directors: The Films of David Cronenberg (1999)

User Reviews

One of Cronenberg's most ambitious horror films.

Dr. Hal Raglan (The late Oliver Reed) is a controversial psychologist, his work is designed to help release the disturbed emotions in his patients. His star patient Nola (Samantha Eggar) is keep in isolation but her negative emotions are more troubled than expected. Her husband Frank (Art Hindle) suspects that his daughter Candice (Cindy Hinds) is hurt and abused by her mother on visitation days. Frank thinks that Dr. Raglan odd therapy is nothing more than a fraud. He needs proof to destroy his creditability but Frank slowly discovers, there is some brutal murders happening. It seems to happen, when Nola vents her fury during her sessions with Dr. Raglan. Frank needs to discover the truth, what is behind these disturbing killings.

Written and Directed by David Cronenberg (The Dead Zone, The Fly "1986", A History of Violence) made an horrific, sometimes disturbing horror film. The movie starts off as a strong drama, then slowly goes to the unknown. There is terrific performances by the late Reed, Eggar and Hindle. Hinds does a good job as the victim in the film. One of the highlights is the memorable music score by the Three Time Oscar-Winner:Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Se7en, The Silence of the Lambs). The feature is especially well shot by Canadian Cinematographer:Mark Irwin (The Blob "1988", Passenger 57, Scanners).

The DVD is the Uncut Version of the picture. This version runs 92 Minutues, although the DVD Cover is credited as a R-Rated Version. DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an clean Dolby 2.0 Mono Sound. The only extra is the original theatrical trailer. It would have been nice, if the movie had an running commentary track by the director. Robert A. Silverman has an scene-stealing performance in a supporting role as One of Ralgan's former patients. "The Brood" starts out as a slow-moving drama, then the movie is gets much better with horrific and memorable scares. Certainly one of Cronenberg's most fascinating films. Don't miss it. (****/*****).