A Ninhada (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:

M/16

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1980 (Portugal)

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

Oliver Reed was arrested by the Canadian police during the production of this film after he made a bet with someone that he could walk from one bar to another without wearing clothes in freezing cold weather.

---

Goofs

In the watching after his daughter (Candy) going into the school doorway scene, the other leaving woman (Mother?: in red coat) there is shown turning and leaving from the shot: next shot from rear of (Candy's father) Frank (A. Hindle) at distance looking on, shows the same person (Mother?) still dropping off her child and once again turning to leave.

---

Quotes

Lawyer: The law believes in motherhood. If Candy doesn't show up at Somafree next weekend your wife can take legal action immediately.

---

Crazy Credits

Special thanks to Dr. Denton: Sleepware.

---

Alternate Versions

The U.S. version was trimmed of violence to earn an "R" rating.

---

Connections

Referenced in Horror Business (2005)

User Reviews

An intimate horror movie

The Brood is undoubtedly the most personal movie Cronenberg ever made : we all know the film describes Cronenberg's vision of his own divorce (and the custody of his daughter Cassandra) ; at that time, his then-wife belonged to what he thought was a cult and he did kidnap his own daughter in order to protect her. Thus The Brood is full of rage, vengeance and death wish… It is a truly frightening story and, in its own way, a candid vision of one's personal tragedy. It seems to be a tale from the Grimm brothers, and, at the same time, a reflection on the powerful link between body and spirit. The script is surprisingly complex and rich, even if, in the end, there is definitely something childish in the movie, but in a positive way: the childish belief that "thoughts can kill" only tempered by the final sequence, when we understand that this little girl, so cruelly abused, will eventually reproduce what her mother developed. The image of this mother (Samantha Eggar at her best, revealing her tortured body that evokes a Roman goddess) is one of the most terrifying one in world cinema. The Brood is a key to understand one of the Cronenberg's major themes: the uncanny… How what is closest to us, family, mother, grandparents, might suddenly become the ultimate horror. What frightens us is not outlandish or alien, on the contrary, it's always part of our intimate universe (as in Videodrome).