This is How Movies Should Be Made

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Clever, well-written, generally well-directed Masters of Horror episode about what would happen if someone or something created a plague or virus that affected mankind in the manner of men killing women instinctively. I do understand there are many gender themes floating in this script - sub-textual ones, metaphorical ones, symbolically, and even allegorically. Okay, I get that - well, at least some of it, but I would rather focus on what The Screwfly Solution is for sure. It is an interesting story about how mankind shall cope with its impending destruction though it not even clearly understands its impending doom. Jason Priestly and Elliot Gould play entomologists who are called in when cities all along a disease vector start having thousands of women killed by men who believe they are killing them for God or religion, etc... The story is cut here and there to fit into its hour, but the script is the piece's best trait. The acting is solid - isn't Gould always fun to watch? A strong supporting performance is given by Linda Darlow as Bella. And beautiful Kerry Norton is the lead. Did I say she was beautiful? Well, she is and you get to see all of her too! Director Joe Dante does a very workmanlike job with material that suits him. This is a fairly strong addition to a pretty good horror anthology.

Based on the short story of the same name, Joe Dante's contribution to the second season of "MOH" is a colossal improvement over his season one debacle. Men in the southern states are showing vicious signs of aggression towards women and murdering them at a rapid rate. The men believe they've been spoken to by God, and a cult known as "The Sons of Adam" takes hold. The religious fervor turns out to be a symptom of some unknown disease which takes hold when men are aroused. Alan and Barney are two biologists just back from Colombia where they were working on an enzyme to disrupt the mating process of the parasitic canefly. Called in by the government to determine what is happening, they quickly realize that it's a similar scenario to how they were tricking the canefly into eradicating itself, but who is behind it? As the symptomatic aggression spreads northward, Alan warns his wife and daughter to go as far north as possible while he searches for a cure. I was very happy to see that Dante avoided the camp this time around. "The Screwfly Solution" is a very pessimistic tale, and I was worried he might possibly give it the "Homecoming" treatment. Not the case, thankfully. I'm pleased to say that any attempts at humor here are of the jet-black variety. Take, for instance, the sequence on the airplane where Alan awakens from a nightmare only to witness an even more nightmarish situation. It's a disturbing scene, but there's also some very dark humor in there.I loved the opening sequence detailing the actual screwfly solution that was utilized against the screw-worm back in 1982. It really set the mood for what would follow. The episode is suitably bleak with Dante adding some of his own unique flavor into the mix as well. Along with the previously mentioned humor, there's also an abundance of social commentary. Not that the source material didn't have it's fair share, as it did, but Dante ups the ante considerably. While he touches on things like terrorism and global warming, the main themes are still those of the original story, radical religious extremism and violence towards women.There was only one change from the short story that I didn't agree with. Considering the prior phone call, Alan showing up at the cabin seemed a little off to me. The scene also made the daughter's actions seem less believable than they were in the original tale. In fact, the daughter was a complete idiot and I was happy when she died. Other than her stupidity, I'd say the episode is damn near flawless. Former "Beverly Hills 90210" pretty boy, Jason Priestley, was far better than I thought he would be. He's especially good once he realizes that he's infected. His phone conversation with his wife is very well-played, as is the later scene with him in the cabin. Kerry Norton is equally good, and Elliott Gould offers solid support.I thought Dante and company really nailed the look of the aliens. They do look as described in the short story, like walking Christmas trees. I thought the final scene to be quite poignant. Speaking of the source material, it goes into a bit further detail on the religious aspect than the episode did. Out of all the episodes in the two "Masters of Horror" seasons, this and "Dance of the Dead" were not only the best, but they were also the only two that I feel could and should have been stretched out into feature length films. Regardless, they're both better than many films that do get released to theaters. "The Screwfly Solution" is provocative and frightening. More horror filmmakers should aspire to tackle such ambitious projects. As for the "Masters of Horror" series, I'm sorry to say that this was the last quality episode the show produced. The six that came after it took a nosedive into pure tripe.Now, if only Stuart Gordon would get around to doing that adaptation of Jack Ketchum's "Ladies' Night" he was said to be interested in doing a while back... A similar story with the gender roles reversed, it would make for a damn fine companion piece to what Dante has accomplished here.

All the males in the world start killing all the females. What is going on here? This is certainly a juicy storyline for the series. It's also quite well executed, for the most part. A scene at a strip club is a particular standout, very brutal and explicit. However, it's director Dante's decision to film the story in an unconventional manner (he likens it to a cell phone capturing the image) that bugged the hell out of me. It didn't need it, the story itself is captivating enough.It does run out of steam towards the end but up until then it's mostly entertaining. The cast is touch and go. I never think Jason Priestly is very convincing in whatever he does but here he was above average. The ever so reliable Elliot Gould didn't disappoint however."The Screwfly Solution" is a solid entry in the series but not one of the best episodes.

Yah, I thought "Gender social-political statement cleverly disguised as action horror scifi" about covered it, to put in succinctly.I am disgusted by the many superficial comments about how this is Joe Dante's work, or that its a ripoff of "28 Days Later" ???? I mean, BUNCH OF MORONS! This is an accurate adaptation of a James Tiptree Jr. story which was written before the "28 Days Later" maker was even born! Literally. Dante should get kudos for almost exactly following the story. James Tiptree Jr. later revealed that she was actually Alice Sheldon, a 63 year old college psychology professor, who would later commit a murder-suicide with her husband 13 years her senior, at age 71.The story is in line with James Tiptree Jr.'s gender themed work. What's the easiest, cheapest way to take over Earth but still get rid of those pesky humans? You disturb the reproductive cycle, of course, just as humans have done with insects, so the humans get rid of themselves. And not via war, like the west v the Muslims or Americans v Russians/Chinese or even cowboys v Indians, but simply via Man vs Woman. That the Man is chosen to be the instrument of death rather than woman, is only seemingly connected to Tiptrees AKA Sheldons political beliefs but is heavily based in actual scientific fact (and simple common sense): men are far more easily led towards violence than women ....The Melancholic Alcoholic.