The Brood (1979)

David Cronenberg’s visceral and alarming, The Brood, strikes a terrifying chord with its absence of a horror intermediary (i.e. monsters, serial killers) and goes straight for the jugular of fear – a threat masked by the innocence of a child.

In a darkened room, two men sit cross-legged on a stage. The “father” is berating his “son” for being a cowardly disappointment. As he castigates his “son,” sores start to consume his body, until, at a precipice of emotion, the two men embrace, and the exercise is over. Dr Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed) is a psychotherapist and practitioner of “psychoplasmic” therapy, and currently the caretaker of Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar). Nola’s husband, Frank (Art Hindle), is forced to “accept” her chosen methods of treatment (which he considers nonsense), and care for their five-year-old daughter, Candice “Candy” (Cindy Hinds). When Nola’s mother is horrifically murdered by an unknown assailant, and in front of Candy, Frank is forced to take action to protect his daughter. As the murders pile up, Frank comes to a bizarre and terrifying conclusion, the likes of which, only David Cronenberg could dream up.

Only ever unleashing his trademark gore sparingly throughout the film, Cronenberg holds his punches until the last fifteen minutes. Keeping his audience largely in the dark helps keep the suspense of the film up, and the mystery high. The depictions of the murders of Nola’s mother and father are shown in quick, blood-spattered, flashes, wherein only the hands of the villain are depicted. By using a camera angle from the killer’s point-of-view, we see that it is quite small, and looks very childlike. Never alluding to what the creature(s) is(are), Cronenberg is able to instill fear in his audience through anxiety alone.

Cronenberg made an excellent choice with his casting of the Carveths. Candice is a big-eyed blond, whose quiet indecision and emotionless face make her a prime suspect in the murders. Completely unaffected by any of the gruesome things that she has witnessed, the audience struggles to decide if this is because Candice is an unknowing child, or an evil genius in disguise. Nola is equally chilling, but this derives from the opposite end of the emotional spectrum. Looking wildly around during her various “therapy” sessions, Nola inspires fear in the audience based on sheer volatility.

Cronenberg is knows for his sharply contrasted shots, usually darkened in the background, and his flourishing of special effects carnage. With a very limited budget of CAD$1.5 million, Cronenberg uses his trademark gore sparingly, and to a much greater affect. Only using them when absolutely necessary, Cronenberg makes the effects themselves the scare tactic, and as a means of keeping the audience off balance. Never knowing when to expect something gross or off-putting (especially during a 1970/80’s Cronenberg) is yet another tactic employed by Cronenberg to heighten the tension. All of the shifting from tension to plot, can become a little taxing, and can slow down the tempo at times. However, at a mere 92 minutes, The Brood still flies by.

With some great casting choices, and a solidly-bizarre story, The Brood shows flashes of David Cronenberg’s signature “venereal” horror, and provides ample entertainment.