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.

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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:

M/16

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the rare movies where Oliver Reed isn't the villain.

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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 Terror na Plateia (1984)

User Reviews

strong early effort from Cronenberg

David Cronenberg has always possessed a flair for unique and disturbing visions infused with the trimmings of a genre that can be best referred to as "biohorror." "The Brood," his tale of hideous mutant children who do the bidding of mentally disturbed Nola (Samantha Eggar) under the care of new-wave psychiatrist Dr. Raglan (Oliver Reed, with a quietly sophisticated Peter Cushing sensibility), is buffered by fine performances that veer away from camp. In a way, one of Cronenberg's achievements is writing such outlandish material and making it entirely convincing and visceral, as opposed to merely settling on B-movie cheesiness, which I admire. As is the case with most Cronenberg films, here 'reality' is made the most atypical place where man can reside, and the clever script is always one careful step ahead of the audience.

7/10

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, Mutual Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1