Curse of the Fly – promoted as The Curse of the Fly – is the second and final sequel to the 1958 version of The Fly. It was released in 1965, and unlike the other films in the series was produced in England. The film was directed by Don Sharp (The Kiss of the Vampire; Witchcraft; Psychomania) and the screenplay was written by Harry Spalding. It stars Brian Donlevy (Quatermass), George Baker, Carole Gray, Yvette Rees, Rachel Kempson, Burt Kwouk, Jeremy Wilkins, Charles Carsan and Mary Manson.
This film was rarely seen for many years, as it was the only entry in the entire Fly film franchise that did not receive a videotape or laserdisc release. It did not receive its home video premiere until 2007, when it was released in a DVD boxed set with the original series of films.
Plot teaser:
Martin Delambre (Baker) is driving to Montreal one night when he sees a young girl by the name of Patricia Stanley (Gray) running along in just her white underwear. They fall in love and are soon married. However, they both hold secrets: she has recently escaped from a mental asylum; he and his father Henri (Donlevy) are engaged in radical experiments in teleportation, and they have already had horrific consequences. Martin also suffers recessive fly genes which cause him to age rapidly and he needs a serum to keep him young.
In a rambling mansion in rural Quebec, they have successfully teleported people between there and London. However, there had been many failures producing horribly disfigured and mad people who are locked up in the stables. Martin’s first wife is one of them. The police and keeper of the asylum trace Stanley to the Delambre place where they find out she has married Martin but it comes out that he had a previous wife whom he did not divorce. Inspector Charas, who had investigated Andre Delambre and is now an old man in the hospital, tells the policeman about the Delambre family and their experiments…
Reviews:
‘There’s still a few other things to like about Curse, such as its lush black and white Cinemascope photography and its quaint, shadowy sets. Its performances are all adequate enough too, even if you do really find yourself missing Vincent Price. In the end,, though, it falls under the category of being a pretty decent standalone film that just happens to be a bad entry in its series; horror fans who have grown up with franchises are used to continuity errors, but you can drive trucks through the ones presented here.’ Brett Galman, Oh, the Horror!
‘It IS a bit slow though. There’s very little action (even of the human on human variety), and since it’s only tangentially related to the first films (the only returning character is the cop from the first movie, played by a new actor) it’s sort of like starting over, which means they can’t speed things along like a normal sequel could. We have to meet everyone, get their back-stories, set up the new storyline, etc. The romantic scenes probably take more screen-time than anything involving failed teleporter victims. It all pays off, but by this point in mid 60s, horror films tended to be a little more exciting (and in color); this one almost feels like an early 50s film at times.’ Horror Movie a Day
‘In any event, no one involved in its creation seems to have given much thought to the idea that this movie most likely takes place some 70 years after The Fly. But taken on its own terms, with only minimal reference to its two predecessors, The Curse of the Fly is a thoughtful, well-crafted film that deserves far better than has been its lot in life.’ 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
