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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

The Ultimate Experience Of Inner Terror

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

---

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:

CAD 1,400,000 (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

Joe Dante cut the American theatrical trailer for this movie.

---

Goofs

When Candy is sent away from preschool by "the creatures", she is wearing her pink snowsuit. However, when Frank drops by their home, desperately searching for his daughter, the pink snowsuit is hanging on the cloak hook at the front door. Then again, a few moments later, Candy is wearing it walking down the street with two of "the creatures".

---

Quotes

Dr. Hal Raglan: Show me!

---

Crazy Credits

Special thanks to Dr. Denton: Sleepware.

---

Alternate Versions

The Criterion Collection edition used for rental and streaming services such as Hulu presents at least one scene in its censored R-rated version, but others uncut. It also omits a moment present in all other versions, in which Frank covers the schoolteacher's face with a piece of paper after finding her body. Criterion DVD and Blu-ray editions are complete.

---

Connections

Referenced in From Stereo to Video (2014)

User Reviews

Sons of Rage

The unconventional psychotherapist Dr. Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed) uses a unique technique developed by him to expose the repressed feelings of his patients. Frank Carveth (Art Hindle) brings his daughter Candice (Cindy Hinds) home after spending the weekend visiting his ex-wife Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar) that is interned in Dr. Raglan's Somafree Institute. He finds bruises on Candice's body and he tells Dr. Raglan that he will not bring Candice to visit Nola anymore. Meanwhile Dr. Raglan learns that Nola was abused by her mother and not protected by her father when she was young.

Frank leaves Candice with his mother-in-law Juliana Kelly (Nuala Fitzgerald) to work, but she is attacked by a dwarf-like creature and brutally murdered. Her ex-husband Barton Kelly (Henry Beckman) comes to town for the funeral, but he is murdered by the same creature. However Frank kills the creature and the autopsy shows that it is not a human offspring. Then Candice's teacher Ruth Mayer (Susan Hogan) has an argument by phone with Nola and she is murdered in front of her class by two creatures that abduct Candice. Frank heads to Somafree and discovers the secret of the deformed children.

"The Brood" is among the best horror movies by David Cronenberg. The plot is very well constructed and the gruesome conclusion is disturbing. The idea of Nola licking the fetus was conceived by Samantha Eggar and censored by censors in Canada, United States and United Kingdom. However the Brazilian DVD presents the uncensored version at least of this scene. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Filhos do Medo" ("The Sons of the Fear")