The Fly II Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: The Fly II
Year: 1989
Director: Chris Walas
Country: US
Language: English

I have previously reviewed The Fly (1958), its sequel Return of the Fly (1959), another sequel Curse of the Fly (1965) and Cronenberg's remake The Fly (1986) but I have not reviewed the remake's sequel The Fly II (1989). This remake/sequel was made by Chris Walas, a special effects artist who's work was so good on Cronenberg's picture that Fox Executives immediately promoted him to the Director's chair. 

The almost-human son of "Brundlefly" searches for a cure to his mutated genes while being monitored by a nefarious corporation that wish to continue his father's experiments

Like the sequel to the original Fly (Curse of the Fly), this one focuses on the offspring of the title character. Instead of aborting the unholy seed gestating inside of her, Veronica (Saffron Henderson) brings it to full term and gives birth to what appears to be a giant larvae before she dies. The first thirty minutes or so exhibit promise that this won’t just be The Fly Redux; the story focused on the  odd-spawn of a strange scientist is a good one, and the setup even subtly indicts Reagan-era corporatism. Instead of a parable about unchecked science and ambition, this is about about bad science falling into the wrong hands.

Unfortunately the Orwellian film falls apart somewhere in the middle of the run-time. Cronenberg’s original worked because it was legitimately horrifying to watch a man lose both his mind and body, but, here, the degeneration is just treated as an inevitable plot beat and an effects reel. It trades in the existential and psychological agony of the original and replaces them chiefly with more visceral thrills. While the violent effects are still as impressive, Fly II ultimately misses the mark. 

The Fly II has really disgusting looking effects, and if you're into that then this is certainly the picture for you. I'm more into psychological horror rather than straight out gore, which means that this remake sequel doesn't do anything for me. Is it worth viewing just once? Nope.