The Brood

Oliver Reed plays the sophisticated, secretive psychologist "Raglan" who is treating "Nola" (Samantha Eggar), the wife of "Frank" (Art Hindle). His techniques are either cutting edge or reckless, depending on your point of view - and his peers take the latter view, so he carries out much of his work in a remote facility that appears little better than a glorified cabin. When his young daughter returns from a visit to her mother, "Frank" notices some rather nasty bruises on her back. Concerned, he forbids his daughter from returning, but when firstly his mother, then his father are brutally killed by being beaten to death, he begins to suspect all is not right with "Raglan" and his practices. Now, we are given clues far earlier than "Frank", so I found there to be little jeopardy with the developing plot. David Cronenberg's story, here, is not one of his more complex, or finest for the matter and the ending made me laugh. It isn't that it is nonsense, it's just that it lacks any sense of peril or horror. The Howard Shore score tries hard to create a sense of fear, but we all know (or can easily guess) too much, too early in the proceedings for it to really build-up a head of steam, with the effects - especially at the end being more comical than terrifying. Much more could have been made of the meta-physics themes that underpinned the story, but as it is - it's just a bit half-baked.