[.ca] The Brood

From Amazon.com:
Arguably the best and most personal of director David Cronenberg's early films, The Brood is an extremely unsettling horror film about familial disintegration and emotional trauma taken to a monstrous extreme. Art Hindle (Black Christmas) stars as a man embroiled in a bitter custody struggle with his estranged wife (Samantha Eggar), who is undergoing therapy at psychiatrist Oliver Reed's controversial institute. Reed's treatment causes his patients to give form to their inner conflicts, and Eggar--whose psyche is at the boiling point from childhood abuse as well as the custody trial--creates a horde of homicidal humanoid children who enact bloody revenge on anyone who has threatened their "mother." Cronenberg's first feature with name actors and composer Howard Shore has its share of gruesome moments, but the film's subtext--how emotional violence impacts a family--is its most chilling aspect. --Paul Gaita

cronenberg; hollywood's challenging pair of brass knuckles:
in the midst of a countless crop of directors lacking in personality or vision, there is david cronenberg. he has, to this day, remained obsessivley true to a relentless, aesthetic vision. this film and rabid are the two early masterpieces. brood is gruesome and unsetletting, about as subtle as a pair of brass knuckles, but it is a highly personal film with many layered messages and, like all great art, it challenges you. rise to the occasion.

An unsettling but thoroughly moving piece from Cronenberg:
It is said by the great man himself that this is the closest he has ever got to making a sort of autobiographical film " and I don't want to come any closer " he feels. And in some respects you have to agree with him. The acting all round is superb and unlike in many of Cronenberg's films where the actors are almost wooden in their performance, none of them here are wooden in their performances. There's a sense of realism in this which you won't get from any other Cronenberg film. There's always a creepy sense " of what might happen " than the " wham bam you're dead " sort of horror movie You don't really need me to tell you the story of the film since many others have commented on it. But I will say this is that Oliver Reed plays his part well. There's always an underlying threat of menace in his voice even when he's trying to convince Frank that he's on his side ( although you probably wouldn't think it at the time ) And as for those side effects that these people have while in his therapy are truly one of the most revolting things you'll ever see. Even though this film is menacingly restrained yet emotional, it'll take a strong stomach to see one of the more gruesome scenes of the film ( although it ain't as gruesome as Scanners or Videodrome ) However this is a film that has to be watched purely being for the reason that this maybe the only time that Cronenberg makes a highly personal movie.

very good:
this is a damn good horror film. It is a little slow, but worth it. Cronenberg creates a creepy and dark atmosphere that inflects every shot. It is well worth it just to see "the brood" themselves, a damned eerie group. Cronenberg hits and misses but this is definitely one of his finer outings. If you've seen all the horror hits and are now looking for a few you may have missed definitely check out this one.

GOOD STUFF:
This is a good rollercoaster ride of a film as it mixes it up with effects, acting and just some shocking content. I love the ending and find the film maintains its "creepy" feel throughout until the very end. The picture and format here are done right and the film itself is pretty fun to watch.

An abused girl's traumatic experiences...:
When a man picks up his daughter from a weekend visits with her mother who is institutionalized in a private clinic he notices bruises and bite marks on her back. This is seems to be linked to the psychiatrist at the mother's clinic, who opposes the idea of removing the daughter from the visits. The father then attempts to prevent the mother from seeing the daughter, but finds out that he will most likely lose custody of the daughter if he continues to press the issue into court. Squeezed in between a rock and hard place the father begins to gather evidence that could aid him in a possible custody battle in court. However, this is interrupted by the mysterious murder of the daughter's grandmother. The Brood has an interesting idea, but the story falls flat as the characters make dim and predictable choices. In the end, Cronenberg does not create a story of disturbing suspense as he did in Dead Ringers (1988) and Spider (2002), but he does create a story that equals many other poor horror films.