Curse of the Fly (1965) User Reviews

Not bad--just don't expect to see any flies!

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 5 July 2008]

Despite the title, there are no flies or fly hybrids in the film other than a photo of the first fly that is briefly shown on the screen. Instead, the film is about the descendants of the scientist from the first film trying to carry on his work--with a few "mistakes" along the way. They, too, are trying to create a matter transference machine but instead of getting mixed with flies, the results were a few deformed people. Instead of dealing with these "freaks" humanely, they just locked them in cells and had their insane servant feed them.

Now the fact that there are no fly monsters in the film isn't a bad thing since the plot is still rather interesting and is a pretty decent example of the genre. However, some silly casting and a few clichés don't help it to be all that memorable or worth seeking. Bert Kwouk (of Asian decent) played one servant but the other was played by Yvette Rees who looked about as Asian as a hamster! Also, Carole Gray had a habit of fainting or making stupid choices--making her character seem clichéd and silly. In addition to these odd characters, Brian Donlevy (an old-time Hollywood character actor) and George Baker (a well-respected British actor famous for playing Tiberius in "I, Claudius" as well as many other TV and film roles) are on hand to give the movie some degree of class.

Overall, the film has its scary moments but also quite a bit of cheese and flat moments to make it just another 60s horror film. Interesting but far from special.

Disappointing, but not as silly as RETURN OF THE FLY

[Bob-45 · 6/10 · 15 July 1999]

The "curse" of the fly, is the "curse" of the DeLambre family, whom has lost family members experimenting with teleportation. Two of the family members bodies had been intermixed with the bodies of house flies in two earlier films. Hence, the "curse of the fly." No one turns into a "fly" in this one; but there are plenty of gruesome results nonetheless. Nothing in the film is better than the opening sequence, as heroine Carol Gray escapes from an asylum, only to meet and marry one of the "mad" DeLambres. The slow motion shattering glass creates quite an eerie effect. Much of what occurs in the film is gruesome rather than horrific. However, nothing is more frightening than Brian Donleavy carrying on a rational conversation arguing FOR the teleportation experiments, with his back covered in horrible radiation burns, the result of his self-experimentation. This is a powerful moment in an, otherwise, fairly routine programmer.

Third and worst of the Fly trilogy

[chris_gaskin123 · 5/10 · 13 June 2005]

The Curse of the Fly is the third and the worst of the three Fly movies. This was made in Britain in 1965, six years after The Return of the Fly and has very little to do with the first two Fly movies.

The son of the original inventor of the transportation machine is continuing with his experiments and as a result of these, he has created mutants which he is keeping locked up in his mansion. At the end, the transporter is destroyed.

Despite this movie being rather disappointing, it has a decent cast: Brian Donlevy (The Quatermass Xperiment, Quatermass 2), George Baker (Inspecter Wexford in The Ruth Rendall Mysteries), Carole Gray (Island of Terror) and Burt Kwouk (who can currently be seen in Last of the Summer Wine).

Despite the above, Curse of the Fly is not totally unwatchable.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5.

Gothic horror with subtle humor

[mcjon · 26 March 2001]

Curse of the Fly may well be a surprise to you, as it was to me. Expecting some typically cheap, cheesy '60s B Horror film, I instead found a film that captured my attention with a better than average storyline, good acting, interesting, if dated, theories on teleportation, and some rather subtle humor. Burt Kwouk, who played the Chinese houseboy "Kato" in the Pink Panther films to Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, and who seemed to be forever perpetrating sneak attacks on Clouseau, likewise turns up in this film as a Chinese houseboy, sans the martial arts bits. This time however, Kwouk is named "Tai". Yvette Rees, who plays the Chinese house'girl', as it were, is named "Wan". Tai and Wan? Taiwan?

Somebody obviously had a lot of fun writing the screenplay.

The opening scene, featuring the beautiful Carole Gray as Patricia Stanley escaping from a mental institution in her underwear as the opening credits roll, is one of the oddest introductory scenes to be seen in a film of this genre. Absolutely recommended for all fans of horror, suspense, '60s b&w's, camp, and films featuring unintentional humor

Uh, I believe the movie is called The Fly, not The Mutant Humans.

[theshadow908 · 1/10 · 9 May 2006]

There's not a whole lot I can say for this terrible 3rd entry into the original Fly series. It tells the story of Henri Delambre, the son of the original scientist...Wait, wasn't his son named Phillipe? And didn't he become a fly in Return of the Fly? Guess we're supposed to ignore that. Anyway, Henri is trying to continue his father's work, but is failing miserably as you may suspect. Something about this film that may surprise you though, is that there is no Fly appearance. You read right. The Fly doesn't appear in this movie at all. Just a bunch of messed up people.

With Vincent Price gone, there is no hope of seeing a good performance in this movie. This movie features some of the most wooden acting I've ever seen. It's like they figured there was no point and just slacked off. The dialogue and direction of the film are no better. This movie is slow, dull, and not even interesting at all. It's a movie that makes me wonder...What was the point? 1/10

Chilling and intriguing third sequel about scientists experimenting with teleportation resulting in unexpected and horrible consequences

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 9 April 2021]

A strange sequel in which doesn' appear the fly , being developed weird incidents about the amazing effects of the teletransportation . Concerning Dalambre father : Brian Donlevy , an obstinate scientist going on experiments around the experimental teleportation by means a device , being helped by his son Martin Delambre : George Baker . The latter decides to take a wife : Carole Gray who results to have escaped from a mental hospital where was locked . Along the way , Police inspectors are investigating the bizarre happenings. The Horror is Back ! All New and more horrific than before ! Piece by Piece.. Atom by Atom.. Humans invisibly teleported through Time and Space !!! What made Them half-human creatures from the 4th Dimension ?

A thrilling and terrifying film with chills , intrigue , suspense , astonishing transformations and fantasic scenes. It is a shocking horror movie , campy but slowly and traditionally made . Although the film is passable as a simple entertainment , as long as it's compared with the two previous entries and nothing to do with The Fly I and Return of the Fly . Focusing on science risks more than the Fly issue . That's why this Curse of the Fly is a perfect example of the dangers of attempting to control and exploit nature . The picture was professional but regularly directed by Don Sharp . He was a good British craftsman who directed all kinds of genres, thrillers , adventures , suspense , Fantasy , Sci-Fi , Terror , such as : "The Kiss of the Vampire , The Face of Fumanchu, The Brides of Fumanchu, Rocket to the Moon , Psychomania , Callan , Hennessy , The Four Feathers , The Thirty-Nine Steps, Bear Island , Secrets of the Phantoms Caverns" .

This is the third part of "Fly Trilogy" , the first : "The Fly 1958" by Kurt Neumann with David Hedison , Patricia Owens , Vincent Price , Herbert Marshall. "Return of the Fly 1959" by Edward L Bernds with Vincent Price, Brett Hasley , John Sutton . "Curse of the Fly 1965" with Brian Donlevy , Carole Gray , George Baker and Burt Kwouk of Pink Panther series. Furthermore , modern retelling "The Fly 1986" by David Cronemberg with Jeff Godblum , Geena Davis , John Getz and "The Fly 2 1988" by Chris Wallas with Eric Stolz , Daphne Zuñiga , John Getz , Lee Richardson.

Family Bizarre

[thejcowboy22 · 5/10 · 9 October 2018]

Growing up on Long Island I always passed Mr. Geegan's stately ranch house with the fine trimmed shrubbery and a lawn jockey in front. I would also hear a deep eerie sound of a dog barking from their backyard. It would sometimes startle me as I wondered what kind of animal was hidden from view. Mr Geegan never ever took the dog out front. To my knowledge I have never ever seen the dog . One day Mr. Geegan gave my friend Steve a proposition to feed the creature twice a day for two weeks in exchange for a nice chunk of change as Mr. G. headed for a rare vacation. Steve dared me to go into the backyard as the growling and barks got louder. There stood the animal in a makeshift cage enclosed with chicken wire and a small opening to put food into. It looked like a wolf Shepard mix as the animal circled hastily back and forth looking at me as if I was a piece of meat. Steve poured water and dry dog chow into a bowl. The dog came towards the opening showing his sharp fangs and foam around the gums. I was frightened as if the dog was ready to break out of the cage at any moment. I diverted the dog to the opposite side of the cage. Steve slid the food and water ever so slowly into an open space of the cage as the beast lunged forward toward the opening . Steve slammed the makeshift door shut just a that split second. The dog devoured the food in seconds but in truth the beast wanted US as the main course which leads to our review of Curse of the Fly. Shot in cost efficient black and white, the third installment of "The Fly franchise". The movie starts out with a Woman Breaking out of a building in her underwear. Meanwhile conveniently, a handsome Canadian, Martin Delambre (George Baker) driving in a sports car, sees this woman and picks her up. Already this movie has me beguiled. The woman Patricia Stanley doesn't tell our chivalrous driver where she came from as unanswered questions turn to a quick romance between the two parties. They quicky get married. Martin Delambre is part of a scientific experiment along with his Father Henri (Brian Donlevy) and his other brother Albert (Michael Graham) across the pond in England operating the other half of their prize invention the "teleporter." Everyone in this movie has issues or nasty baggage. This movie has everything, romance, violence, deception, trouble with aging rapidly, travel issues and comedy. The Delambre estate which includes creepy house servants and a hall of shame. The hall of shame is a row of enclosed horse stalls with freaks from earlier failed experiments. One of those tragic failures is Martin's wife Judith (Mary Manson) who is let out at night and practices the piano with the use of her good arm under the guidance of Asian servant Wan (Yvettte Rees) as she struggles with a piano piece "Chopsticks". What grabs your attention is the problems with passports, bigamy, police investigations, escaped metal patient and health issues of a different kind. While watching this movie unfold I fantasized. This movie had the makings of a science fiction soap opera and could of dragged on week by week for my personal enjoyment. Ironically, actor Brian Donlevy in parts of this film showed his comedic timing as he explained during a family dinner how he traveled so quickly to an inquiring future Daughter-In-Law. Feeding time at the stalls are my favorite scenes as each freak tries to get out. Reminded me of feeding Mr. Geegan's dog. Just a shocking laugh out loud movie which I found this to be entertaining with so many problems by comparison of the other two previous "Fly" themed films. Back to my story about the neighborhood beast. Steve successfully fed the animal without repercussions for the following two weeks. The last I checked he had both of his arms and half a left pinky.

A minor sci-fi gem

[jluis1984 · 7/10 · 13 April 2007]

One of the best horror movies of the 50s is without a doubt the 1958 version of "The Fly", the story of a scientist who gets fused with a common fly when a experiment goes awfully wrong. Directed by Kurt Neumann and starring David Hedison and Vincent Price, "The Fly" went on to become an enormous hit thanks to its effective mix of mystery, suspense and horror. As usual, to the surprising success of "The Fly" followed the making of a sequel, "Return of the Fly", released immediately the following year and with Price reprising his role. However, the change of focus from suspense to shock and horror, together with the rushed shooting and the low-budget made "Return of the Fly" an inferior product that did nothing but give a bad reputation to the series. This reputation extended to the third and final film, 1965's "Curse of the Fly", which is often labeled unfairly as "one of the bad sequels" when actually, it is a minor jewel of science fiction.

"Curse of the Fly" follows once again, Henri Delambre (Brian Donlevy), who despite having been almost destroyed by his father Teleportation machine in his youth, he has spent his life continuing his father's work. Now he has his two sons working with him, and the Delambres have finally achieved transatlantic Teleportation, with Martin Delambre (George Baker) coordinating the Canadian side and Albert Delambre (Michael Graham) the British side. However, not everything is going well for the Delambres, as after a series of disastrous failures both Martin and Albert are disenchanted with the project and are willing to start a normal life. Henri's experiments will become endangered once again when Martin marries Pat Stanley (Carole Gray), as the newly arrived bride has secrets of her own that could unleash the curse of the Delambres, the curse of the Fly.

Writer Harry Spalding does a terrific job in bringing back the series to its original themes of mystery and suspense, and while he downplays horror in favor of sci-fi, the story carries an appropriate feeling of doom. Spalding's script is very respectful of the themes exposed in George Langelaan's original short story, and unlike "Return of the Fly", it recaptures the Gothic atmosphere of the original movie and manages to tie in everything exposed in the previous films and give a proper conclusion to the Delambres' saga. The addition of an element of madness to the story is really clever, and allowed director Don Sharp some chilling scenes. As the backbone of the movie, it is truly Spalding's script what separates "Curse of the Fly" from other b-movies of its time, and returns the series to its former glory, at least for a last dance.

Better known for his work with Hammer Studios, director Don Sharp took the job of bringing Spalding's script to life while he was still at the top of his game. Already familiar with low-budget conditions of work, Sharp hides his monsters in the shadows and employs atmosphere and music to create the horrors of the Delambres' house, and by doing this not only his monsters become more realistic and menacing, he also returns to the series' roots by focusing the horror in the unknown and the unseen. Basil Emmott's excellent cinematography is of great importance for this, as paired with Bert Shefter's eerie score create an ominous atmosphere of dread that suits the Gothic style of the series to perfection. In many ways, "Curse of the Fly" feels like a science fiction version of those low-budget Hammer thrillers of the 60s like "Nightmare" or "Paranoiac".

Being produced in the United Kingdom, "Curse of the Fly" showcases a lot of British talent in its cast, which overall means a significant improvement over "Return of the Fly". Brian Donlevy of "Quatermass" fame appears as the aging Henri Delambre, who despite all the tragedies he has lived insist in fulfilling his father's dream. Donlevy's performance as the tragic scientist is quite subtle, yet of great power. George Baker is for the most part effective, and even when at times appear a bit wooden he manages to carry the film without problems. As the troubled Pat Stanley, Carole Gray delivers probably the best performance of the film, giving a very natural performance in her role. The performances by the supporting cast are nothing special, but most make a good job with their roles. Burt Kwouk and Yvette Rees do have some quite good scenes as the Asian servants Tai and Wan.

As often happens with sequels, low-budgets can really become the Achilles' heel of a movie, and "Curse of the Fly" is no exception. While Don Sharp does a great job into hiding it during most of the movie, it is impossible not to notice that the make-up work in the movie is pretty bad and probably the worst thing in the film. Also due to budgetary constrains, the designs for the Teleportation machines look sadly poor and even anachronistic (they look like something out of a 50s film), cheapening some of the film's best scenes. Still, thanks to the high quality of Spalding's screenplay, most of those quibbles can be easily ignored as the film's story is simply captivating. The masterful direction by Don Sharp also helps in this as for the most part he manages to disguise the movie's flaws.

Often dismissed as another cheesy horror from the 60s, "Curse of the Fly" is actually a fine piece of cinema that ultimately redeems the series in this the last chapter of the saga. One would have wished a better budget for this story, as the epic tragedy of "The Fly" is ended in an amazing fashion here. However, Don Sharp really made wonders with what he got (a true trademark of a Hammer alumni) and delivered a product worth of praise. While of course not as good as Neumann's classic, "Curse of the Fly" is definitely an unfairly hidden gem of science fiction. 7/10

You can tell you are not in the 1950s anymore in this 3rd Fly film

[AlsExGal · 5/10 · 11 October 2020]

You can tell you are not in the 1950s anymore as the film opens with a salacious scene. The lovely and sultry Carol Grey wriggles out a window in her white nylon bra and panties under a very reflective full moon. She runs away in slow motion giving the leering audience every possible angle of her shapely buttocks jiggling down the lawn. Not only was this an obvious pandering but a significant step away from 50's button-down, pearl necklace sensibilities. She runs away from a lunatic asylum to be picked up by a scientist (who obviously had more sex in mind than good samaritan). Unfortunately he's part of the experiments started in the Fly.

Vincent Price is not in this Fly film since by this time he was under contract to another studio. However, I found this film to be better than its reputation. The Delambres, despite what has happened in the two previous films, have continued to experiment with the teleporter. The result has been more subtle but just has horrific. Now the Delambres are a family with various physical and mental ailments that are in danger of disintegration if an answer cannot be found. Oddly enough, after all the tragedy, they still think the answer to their troubles is the the teleporter. Many people don't like this film because it is quite a departure from the first two, but I think that is its strength.

The production code may not be dead at this point, but it is on life support. Plus this film was made in the UK and not subject to the old production code anyways. Probably worth a look if you liked the first two.

Fly Fly Fly Away

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 11 February 2005]

(Some Spoilers) Even though "The Curse of the Fly" is the third installment of "The Fly" "The Fly" doesn't at all appear in the film, except for a photo of the original "Fly". Henri Delambre, Brian Donlevy, and grandsons Martin & Albert, George Baker & Michael Graham, are in the movie continuing his fathers work in perfecting the tele-transporter to be used in the future for the benefit of mankind.

Even though Pop,Henri is as crazy and fanatical as can be in his pursuits to develop the tele-transporter his two boy's, Martin & Albert, are a bit turned off with his mad dreams that has taken a great toll on his health. Since it was making their lives a total wreck but still go alone with his research. Henri's experiments have taken a number of lives and horribly deformed some of the people that they were tried on, by putting them in that contraption, including Martin's wife Judith, Mary Manson and Martin and Henri themselves.

Martin driving one evening sees this young women running down the road dressed only in her bra and panties and takes her to the hotel that he's staying at in Montreal Canada. Learning that her name is Pat, Carole Stanly, Martin in no time at all fall in love with her and the two are married within a week.

Back at the Delmbra Mansion Martin continues his experiments with the tele-transporter with the help of his two live-in helpers the butler and maid Tie & Wan, Burt Kwouk & Yette Rees, with Pat blissfully ignorant of what happening in the house. When Martin's father Henri, back in London finds out that he did, got married he almost blows a fuse. Later finding out that Pat is an escapee from a local mental institution when Henri is tele-transported back to Montreal he realizes that now the police and hospital authorities will be snooping around the mansion. Henri gets Martin to show the police his marriage license with Pat to keep them off the premises,in order not for them to find out what he and Martin are doing there. There's another hitch in the plot when the police learn that Martin is still married to Judith, who mysteriously disappeared due to Martin's experiments on her, making his marriage to Pat illegal.

Even though both Martin and Pat agreed not to ask each others about their past Pat is suspicious about what Martin is doing behind her back. One night Pat find Judith playing the piano, Pat herself is a pianist, and is terrified at her deformed appearance. Later Pat to her horror finds a number of the persons that Martin used in his experiments locked up outside the mansion. Now Martin himself, his conscience got the best of him, comes clean with her telling Pat what he's been doing at the mansion all these years.

Not as good as the original "The Fly" but much better the "The Return of the Fly" with the emphasis on the tele-transporter and how in the end it destroys the Delambre's dream of perfecting it. Henri disappears when he's transported back to London with the receiving tele-transporter destroyed by his, also conscience stricken, son Albert. This has Henri turning into a bunch of loose and dismembered cells atoms and molecules floating in the nothingness of inner space forever.

CURSE OF THE FLY (Don Sharp, 1965) **

[Bunuel1976 · 4/10 · 11 October 2007]

I found this to be not too bad, considering its rather dismal reputation; still, it's definitely a letdown as both a follow-up to the two previous FLY movies as well as WITCHCRAFT (1964; the film was made by several of the same people).

The plot, at least, does try something relatively different: people can't keep changing into man/fly hybrids (accidentally or not) from picture to picture. Even so, it's not believable that two generations on from the David Hedison character in the original, the members of the Delambre (curiously mispronounced by everyone throughout!) family are still suffering the symptoms of his mutation. How is that even possible? The scientist played by Brian Donlevy is, ostensibly, a brother to Brett Halsey from RETURN OF THE FLY (1959) – where it's clearly established that Hedison only had one son; if, on the other hand, he's supposed to be the embodiment of an older Halsey, why change the name from Philippe to Henri…and let's not forget that Inspector Charas from the first film turns up again here, when he was already an old man back then?!

That said, however, it's interesting that George Baker's character is made to age from time to time (given the very brief lifespan of a fly). Donlevy, then, approaches his role as if he were tackling Professor Bernard Quatermass (from the two Hammer films of the 1950s) for the third time – which isn't in itself a bad thing; his demise during the busy climax is at once ironic and amusing. Lovely leading lady Carole Gray also appeared in DEVILS OF DARKNESS the same year, which I just watched; unfortunately, even if she's seen mostly in her underwear throughout (right from the effective slow-motion credit sequence), her character is also sedated for a good part of the duration!

Apart from the typically weird goings-on in a remote old mansion (sinister-looking female servant – played by Yvette Rees, the revived descendant from WITCHCRAFT – straight out of REBECCA [1940], disappearing members of the household turning up as mutants hidden away in the backgarden like something out of H.G. Wells' "The Island Of Dr.Moreau"!), as I said, the plot sees the re-appearance of the Inspector from the first film (though played by a different actor) who's still following the family 'fortunes' from afar. Incidentally, the introduction of Gray's character as mentally unstable seems an irrelevant plot point since it subsequently goes nowhere. The teleporting machine has a more streamlined design this time around (being horizontal as opposed to vertical); even if the scientists are no more careful than before – given their alarming number of failures – if anything, one feels glad that some definite progress has been made in the experiments after all this time, since characters are now able to be transported from one city to another!

Much better than you've heard

[evilskip · 8/10 · 14 December 2000]

I remember seeing the ads for this on tv back in 1965.Man did I ever want to see this flick!Too bad I had to wait over 30 years to do so.One good thing is that I really wasn't disappointed!

This to me is the best of the "Fly" trilogy.A man turning into a fly via a matter transporter is a little outrageous.But turning into a gooey mutant is another thing entirely!

The Delambre family (led by Brian Donlevy) is once again mucking about with transporters.The "mistakes" are kept in the stables.Radiation burns and rapid aging are the norm in this household.

On the downside is the extremely low budget.Not a lot of different sets were used in this film.The make up is okay (but a sight better than the guinea pig man from Return Of The Fly).

There is a very Gothic look to this flick and the cast and crew do extremely well with what they have been given.The ending is pretty much unforgettable and chilling.Excellent b&w photography.Well worth a look!

Chilling Scene

[cschrie1 · 7/10 · 17 February 2005]

Although I have not seen this film in many years the most chilling scene I remember was when dozens of the mutants, victims of the Delambre's teleporter experiments, were loaded up in the Montreal Transporter booth and teleported to London in an attempt to evade local authorities. The London Transporter operator reintegrates this transmission and it results in mass of fused bodies and flesh in the receiver. The operator is so horrified that he destroys the London receiving station. Later, we see a scene where he ignores repeated calls to reintegrate Henri' Delambre while he screams and cries half insane still holding the Ax he used to destroy the teleporter and presumably to kill the "thing" it created.

I didn't care for it

[ericstevenson · 5/10 · 11 July 2016]

It seems like this has become a cult favorite for a lot of people. Personally, I didn't see the appeal. I was quite interested in seeing this movie because for the longest time, it wasn't available on home video. It's a pretty rare movie, but it's really not worth looking at. It doesn't help that I haven't seen the other Fly movies. This is weird because it doesn't even feature any flies! It just seemed like it was a hard story to continue with this title! The main problem is the relationship. It's strange because this woman meets the guy and they immediately get married. She just starts the movie right away.

There actually is this one really good shot in the film. It's actually the first scene and it shows a window being smashed. This is really a great shot and it's filmed beautifully. If only the rest of the film were like that. Another problem is that the film is too anti-climatic. This seemed like it would more appropriate to be featured in an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". I actually did like the makeup effects in this. They do have some creative ideas. Like many movies, the main problem is that they're not used very well. **

An unsung masterpiece of horror

[LJ27 · 13 May 2000]

I saw this as a kid and had read that it was the worst of the series. I don't think so! This one is the scariest, weirdest, most atmospheric and most unsettling of the FLY series. I think that if this film wasn't having to be compared to the first two, it would be more highly spoken of. The scene where the heroine discovers just who (or what) is playing the piano in the middle of the night sent chills up my spine. This film has enough ghoulish imagery that really stays with you long after you've seen it (and for me it's been over 20 years). The opening escape scene is ahead of it's time with the mental patient running in slow motion with the title credits over it. Some of the mutants are very quite disturbing to look at and there are plot twists and turns applenty. Basically, no one is safe or sacred in this dark final film in the series. I could talk more but I would spoil it for those who have never seen it. It used to be on television frequently but has now disappeared. However, it's well worth the trouble of finding it. This has the mark of a truly great horror film - it will continue to live in your memory long after your initial viewing. I am wishing for a DVD of it someday. The sad part is that it is the unfavorable comparisons to the original on the part of most critics that probably keep Fox from releasing a video of it. Let's hope they wise up and preserve it on disc before the negative is destroyed. That would be an un-fitting end for CURSE OF THE FLY which is an unsung masterpiece of a horror film.

This Isn't Your Father's Fly!

[fenian2153 · 4/10 · 9 November 2009]

To be sure, there are genuinely scary moments in this film, but the cons outweigh the pros. The opening sequence of the lovely Carole Gray making her escape from the insane asylum is very atmospheric. PROS: She's in bra and panties and the scene is in slow motion. CONS: But then George Baker (as Martin) sees her running down the road ,in her skivvies, in the Canadian night, and MARRIES her!?

Then we're introduced to Martin's father, Henri (Brian Donlevy). It seems he's recuperating from something on a couple of sawhorses. PROS: Good laboratory set. CONS: Mr. Donlevy's voice rises to a laughable squeek when he gets agitated. The family's curse is being fanatical about matter teleportation. "Imagine being able to send help where it's needed INSTANTLY!", squeeks Henri.

Various other characters are introduced: Chinese servants (Tai and Wan), the director of the asylum, the police inspector, the misshapen human teleportation guinea pigs, etc. PROS: good makeup on the "failures". CONS: A Caucasian actress trying to portray an Asian house servant. It's stupid and offensive, especially when she speaks in "Engrish".

It all goes to Hell in the end, of course. The former lab assistants are fused horribly into a large, multi-limbed, gelatinous mass. Daddy gets disintegrated. Martin keels over and ages into a skeleton. The police inspector leads the now numb Ms. Gray away as the music swells.

Thank God it's finally... THE END

Delambre Name The Only Real Connection

[Rainey-Dawn · 5/10 · 4 February 2017]

The Delambre name is the only real connection to the first two films of the series. Phillippe is renamed Henri; Henri was the name in the short story not Phillippe but it would have made more sense in this 3rd film to keep his name Phillippe (a lot less confusing that way since it was changed to Henri in the first film).

Also do not expect to see any Fly in this film. The teleportation device still has quite a few problems but flies are not one of them anymore. So in a way, this film is only connected to the first two films by the name Delambre and the teleportation device still having troubles. The problem is, with no Fly it's not really a Fly movie anymore, it's not what people are wanting to see which is The Fly.

That's not to say this is a bad film because The Fly is not in this movie, it's just not as good as the first two and does not live up to it's name and film poster. It's a deceiving film, cashing in on the success of the first two films.

5/10

Has its moments but under-par

[Red-Barracuda · 5/10 · 4 July 2022]

2nd sequel to the original cult classic. This one is different to the first film in a couple of significant ways - firstly, its in black and white, not in colour and secondly...there is no fly! The story has the grandson of the original 'fly' chance upon a young woman escaping from an asylum in her underwear; they fall in love and relocate to the family mansion, where teleportation experiments are naturally the order of the day. There are mutants imprisoned on the grounds of the estate who are victims of the failed experiments. Despite a lack of fly action, this one does have some good horror moments now and again. Overall, fairly routine though.

Superior sequel that recaptures the human interest of the successful 1958 original

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 14 October 2020]

1965's "Curse of the Fly" was a Robert L. Lippert production from the same team responsible for Lon Chaney's 1964 "Witchcraft," a genuinely well crafted script by Harry Spalding directed with real flair by Don Sharp following his Hammer entries "The Kiss of the Vampire" and "The Devil-Ship Pirates," and soon to kick off Christopher Lee's Fu Manchu series. The lack of a similar human creature with fly head may have contributed to its relative failure, at the box office as well as audience interest, but it turns out to be a return to the increased human drama that was such a standout feature of Kurt Neumann's 1958 original, kicking off with a striking opening in slow motion, shattered glass emerging from the broken window of a mental institution and the escape of Carole Gray's Patricia Stanley clad only in her underwear. Running down the dark road in full view of motorists, it's not long before George Baker's Martin Delambre picks her up and takes her to Montreal, a whirlwind romance resulting in a quickie marriage before returning to the country estate owned by his father Henri (top billed Brian Donlevy). Husband and wife also happen to be keeping secrets from each other, she a concert pianist who suffered a nervous breakdown at the sudden death of her demanding mother, he and his London brother Albert (Michael Graham) the offspring of the former Philippe from "Return of the Fly," the renamed Henri now an elderly man more obsessed than ever in continuing the teleportation methods begun by his late father, two lab assistants plus Martin's first wife all failed monstrosities locked away in outdoor cells. Henri's once happy ending in the second sequel was merely temporary, the fly genes making their presence felt by their relatively brief lifespans, Martin suffering from a condition of rapid aging requiring an injection of a special serum to keep him alive, a fate the normal Albert was fortunately spared. Patricia sees her disfigured predecessor playing piano in the middle of the night, wonders if she's losing her sanity all over again, Henri dissuading Martin from revealing the terrible truth to the new arrival until his love for her forces his hand. With the police investigation tightening like a noose around their necks, Henri has his staff set out to destroy every trace of evidence, but after two subjects are reintegrated together into one formless, inhuman blob, Albert takes matters into his own hands to cut off their London destination. Those who dismiss this sequel for its British origins must take into account the Canadian setting for all three titles, a long neglected gem for viewers who had little opportunity to see it. The role of Henri was written for Claude Rains, Brian Donlevy a weak substitute on wobbly alcoholic legs, ten years after his forceful rendition of Nigel Kneale's Quatermass in both "The Quatermass Xperiment" and "Quatermass 2," while returning from "Witchcraft" is the witch herself, Yvette Rees, a Barbara Steele lookalike here made up in stereotypical Asian as Wan, wife of Burt Kwouk's Tai (Tai-Wan?), her mission to terrorize the second wife in defense of the first.

Stink Bomb

[briangetmail-70510 · 1/10 · 21 November 2019]

One of my favorite movies is the "The Fly". Both Return of the Fly and Cruse of the Fly are not anywhere near the quality of the first film. I guess the only reason I kept watching is the beautiful Carole Gray here. The story starts off well, she escapes from a hospital and a kind man comes along to rescue her. She gets married and moves into his home with the mad scientist Brian Donlevy. Everything goes downhill from there and the rest of the film is pretty boring. The two scientists keep trying to solve the problem with the tele transporter. The police become suspicious when people start disappearing and obtain a search warrant after both scientists die. At least the beautiful Carole Gray escapes unharmed.

The Delambre family curse.

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 7 February 2009]

The Curse Of The Fly is the third instalment of the original series of films born out of the short story written by George Langelaan. Here in this one, a vast improvement on the awful Return Of The Fly, we are with the descendants of doomed Andre Delambre from the first and best original feature film. The links and time frames are rather tenuous, but the basic core of matter transportation still remains, with obviously less than great experimentation results!. Playing out more as a science fiction thriller than a outright horror picture, Curse Of The Fly has oodles of atmosphere and a genuine feel of a tragic melodrama, it also boasts the watchable talent of Brian Donlevy as Henri Delambre. It opens with a fabulous sequence and ends with a very satisfying conclusion, while the make up effects of the creepers certainly don't embarrass the film at all. For sure there is the usual cheese that comes with this up and down genre, but as low grade genre films go, this one most definitely holds up rather well. 6/10

SPOILERS!! Should have stopped at #2

[synash-79487 · 3/10 · 17 January 2022]

I decided to just shorten my review on this waste of celluloid to the same number of stars that I rated it:

1. No explanation of WHY the movie is a curse of the fly until 7/8 into the movie. What fly? If one hadn't known about the original with Vincent Price, then why the heck waste your insomnia on this.

2. WHAT the heck were those creatures that had been locked up. Not one looked like a fly in any of its phases birth to death. The half-disfigured face of wife #1 is later just her hair covering her face. The bandage wrapped on said Wife #1's to hide whatever it is going on with her left leg does not a creature make. At the end of the film, she seems to be The Mummy. The other failed fly was seemingly costumed all in latex not that much different from Kim Kardashian's outfit on the red carpet at the Met Gala.

3. OH so boring. WHO wrote the script? Pat (Wifey #2) is an asylum escapee. She's not mentally ill; she had a nervous breakdown upon learning of her father's death. Not a killer psycho/sociopath. Just a woman who was stressed out. Everyone is looking for her! The writers could have done a lot better, for instance - leave all that out and come up with something that's not going to have us on the edge of our seats waiting for the tie in with lunacy

4. Lastly, it just seems that someone came up with a concept threw some ideas in a hat and wrote, produced and directed by putting slips of paper. If this was improvisation, then I'd given it a 6. Maybe.

A chilling finale to a classic series!

[nobodyfred · 8/10 · 17 July 2006]

I wasn't too impressed by "Return of the Fly", but it still fascinated me! When I learnt that there was a third one, I was quite intrigued to see it. I just watched it for the first time on DVD, and I was quite impressed on how smart the story was, and even though there is no Human-Fly monster in it (which, to be honest, is a smart approach), I thought it was more clever to base the movie around the Delambre legacy, rather than focus on the whole "man gets gene-spliced with a fly" blah blah blah! To be honest, I was expecting something REALLY dreadfully cheesy, but surprisingly, I loved it! The visuals (especially, the opening credit sequence, very well thought up!), and the originality of it is superbly done! It's got the classic horror movie style down perfectly! True its not as frightening as say... Alien, but, for its time (1960s), the mutant make up and story are very well sorted! TOTALLY UNDERRATED!

A cut above the rest

[Thorsten-Krings · 7/10 · 28 January 2009]

I actually found this film to be the most entertaining in the original Fly trilogy. The strongest and the weakest point of the film is the writing. The main plot is not highly original: the Delambres teleport people but they don't do it very well. But the subplot is very clever. The film starts with a woman escaping from a mental insitution and seemingly nice Delambre picking her up and falling for her. Once they return to Delambres mansion roles are reversed and we realize that it is not really she who is insane but rather the Delambre clan. That is unconventiional and well executed although it could have been made more use of. The second really good aspect of the film is Don Sharp's very stylish directing, particularly the opening sequence and his use of music. All these things put the Curse of the Fly in a class well above the usual SciFi B movie. And Brian Donlevy doesn't look quite as disoriented as in his other later films.

Who is who?

[pagliuco-686-574748 · 1/10 · 1 December 2021]

This movie is terrible. The family tree makes no sense. If Andre Delambre is Martin Delambre's grandfather, and Henri is Martin's father, is Henri Philippe's brother? Since Henri is in his 60's, I don't see how we didn't see or hear about him in the first movie.