THE BROOD (1979)

REVIEW / MOVIE\ A BROOD OF LITTLE HORRORS

Boston Globe - January 14, 1980

Author: Michael Blowen Globe Correspondent
A film written and directed by David Cronenberg. Starring Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar and Art Hindle. At the Central Square Cinema, Cambridge. Rated R.

The marauding villains in horror films are usually deranged adults, gigantic aliens, mysterious monsters or biological germs. But "The Brood's" beasts are fair-haired midgets dressed in pale blue and yellow Dr. Denton's with the hands of adult males and faces that look like withered winter squash.

These genetic victims of unnatural childbirth are the progeny of Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar) and are raised under the watchful eye of Dr. Hal Raglan. Raglan is your basic mad psychologist and author of the best-selling book "The Shape of Rage" who discovers that Mrs. Carveth is giving birth to a family of maniacal munchkins. His work at the Somafree Institute of Psychoplasmics is designed to study these experimental wonders. But, naturally, things get out of control.

The ill-tempered beasts are extensions of Nola's personality. When she becomes enraged toward her mother, one of her dear, little children grabs a meat tenderizer and beats poor mom to a pulp. When her hostility toward her father surfaces, dear old pop is beaten over the head with a round, glass paperweight. You get the idea that you shouldn't cross Nola. After all, whatever Nola wants Nola gets.

Frank (Art Hindle), Nola's estranged husband, is understandably upset by the bizarre turn of events. His daughter has been spending weekends with her mother and Frank knows that she's doing more with the daughter than taking her on field trips to the Children's Museum. Especially when the blonde little cherub shows up on Monday with scratches and bite marks on her back. His investigation leads him to the police, other victims and inevitably back to the Somafree Institute.

The appearances of Eggar and Reed elevate the acting in "The Brood" above the general histrionics of the horror genre. Reed's piercing, penetrating voice and Eggar's demonic demeanor add a dimension of realism to this terrifying excursion into black comedy.

Writer-director David Cronenberg borrows the midget from "Don't Look Now;" the pulsating string music from "Psycho" and turns "Rosemary's Baby" into sesquicentuplets but marks them with his own manic individualism. His rapid fire direction keeps you bouncing back and forth between laughter and shock with only minor stops for explanatory dialogue and his satirical sophistication never stoops to cheap parody.

If you liked the bloody comedy of "Dawn of the Dead," you'll find "The Brood" just as charming.