The Maya Dice

Took me a little while to get this out, but finally done it. Having some problems with moving the dice, the texture wrap moves around causing a re-alignment of the spots, not sure what not to do.

The Fly 1986

The gore, the horror, the bodily fluids, where should I start, well, there’s no where better than the beginning. Not so different from the original film when it comes to story content; an ambitious scientist (Seth, Jeff Goldblum) working on a transportation devise which uses matter manipulation at its core, and a love interest (Veronica, Geena Davis) which is crucial to the development of the story. This time round the leading female plays a reverse role to the original, as a more reserved character when it comes to nourishing the doctor’s every whim. Seth, the young scientist, wants to change the world and Veronica, a reporter, wants to be there to record it. “The character breaks from the protagonist of 1958’s The Fly in that he can articulate the changes in his body right to the very end” this quote taken from the A.V. Club defines the major difference between the two films. David Cronenberg (Director) uses Seth’s transformation as the main focus of the story, bringing body horror up close and personal.

We see Seth use the teleportation device on himself, unaware of the fly inside mounted on the window. He emerges from the device externally unscathed and unaware of the molecular changes taking place within his body. A day after, in the middle of the night, he awakes in his pubescent state as he acquires great agility, strength and sexual prowess, all the good stuff, but with no side effects – as yet. The movie progresses with subtle changes to Seth beginning to show; he becomes irritable and more impatient, which Veronica – now his love interest – begins to recognise. His metabolism, train of thought and speech all seem to accelerate at an alarming rate making him less coherent and more cynical. These changes intensify with every scene, until the inner beast or fly starts to physically shine through.

“What’s the greatest horror in a movie about a man slowly turning into some sort of half man-half fly hybrid? It has to be what I just said, correct? Nope, try again. Okay then, it has to be all the gory effects used to show his metamorphosis, right? Well done”. Now we’re cooking this is what transforms this film into what I believe is a horror. Seth’s features become deformed with coarse hairs protruding from his body, his back arches bringing his arms closer to the ground, he starts to shed parts of his body, and acidic saliva gushes from his mouth whenever he wishes to eat. He continues to de-evolve returning to his base animalistic form, which because of the fusion with the insect, is the fly. He loses more and more of his humanity, while the loving Veronica tries her best to save what little of it is left, little realising that the child she now carries for Seth is the only part of him worth saving. "Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid."

The Fly 1958

A horror film - may be, may be not “ With such a dramatic opening “The Fly” has a lot to live up to and what emerges is a sad story of considerable pathos despite the ridiculous plot.” The BBC reviewer who wrote this seems to be in two minds. The story follows a wife who sacrifices all for her husband so he could realise his dream. Yes, the film opens with the graphic murder of the husband (Andre Delambre) by his wife (Helene Delambre), but it seems to be more her loss than anything else.  Ridiculous, I don’t think so, it depends on one’s perspective of the film, the genre says horror, and the name conjures up images of a human and fly jigsaw. But if you actually watch the film, it tells the story of Helene’s devotion to her husband right down to the T in marital vows. A love story in which a scientist tampers with matter manipulation to transport objects from one space to another, but with dire consequences as his wife dots around him fulfilling his every whim. A fly, yes, a fly, hitches a ride to remind him that unwrapping the mysteries of the universe without permission is a big no!

“If you watch this one expecting a sci-fi or horror spectacular, then you’ll be disappointed.”  Brian Webster of Apollo Movie Guide has hit the nail on the head, yes, I was intrigued, as I waited for the story to unfold, but never horrified. Could it have been the dated effects or lack of bloodshed, partly yes? But if I had watched it in 1958 I might of been astounded by the visuals, and missed the true story, which was summed up by Andre’s brother Francois (Vincent Price) at the end when he was asked by his nephew Philippe why his father died, and he replies: “Your father was an adventurer searching for the truth of life and died trying to unlock it’s mysteries” or something to that effect. That to me was the crux of it, a scientist who would risk all working to get closer to god and unravel his mysteries with his devoted wife willing to sacrifice her own sanity and life by his side all the way. Don’t forget to add a sprinkling of fly head and leg with a splash of blood and wallah! The Fly, 1958 will explode onto your screens.