The Fly II - Actually quite good fun

I'm going to talk about 1986's 'original' 'The Fly' movie like it wasn't a remake.  Believe it or not there was a time when horror movies were remade and still actually quite good without the overriding motive being a shameless cash-grab.  It had pretty much everything you could ever want from a horror film - a great cast, memorable characters, a top-notch director and, of course, plenty of gore.  It's success meant that a sequel was inevitable.  But did it live up to the original?  Does it ever.

'The Fly II' is nowhere near as good as it's predecessor, but don't take that as too harsh criticism - it's actually pretty good.  For a sequel.  And a horror sequel at that.

One major plus point is that it really does feel like a continuation of the story.  Sadly Geena Davis doesn't reprise her role and Jeff Goldblum is only on screen for a few moments via the use of a video diary made during the first film.  John Getz does return which aids the feeling of continuity and is as watchable as he was the first time round.  As explored in the original film, an amazing scientist who created the means for teleportation fathered a child while he was semi-fused with an average house fly.  Now the sinister corporation who financed the who project wants their returns on their investment - in the form of Seth's child.

Eric Stoltz plays Martin Brundle, who grows from a baby to eighteen in only five years.  It's about that time that he starts to go through various 'changes' which are more than just hairs growing in intimate places and a deeper voice.

The plot - sort of - goes over old ground where we witness a man change into something horrible while trying to juggle a romantic relationship.  However, despite its lack of freshness, it's just so damn watchable.  It's one of those films where you can probably predict everything that's going to happen (and you won't be wrong!), but it doesn't really matter.  It's just a fun little jaunt that has some pretty good creature effects in the second act.

No, it will never be as good as the original and I dare say that many who watched the Goldblum/Davis/Cronenberg outing may not even know it spawned a sequel.  But if you're looking for a rare follow-up that doesn't detract from the original in any way and does its best to honour the spirit of what made the first film great, this one is a decent attempt.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that