The Fly II

Brooksfilms. Director Chris Walas; Producer Steven-Charles Jaffe; Screenplay Mick Garris, Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, Frank Darabont; Camera Robin Vidgeon; Editor Sean Barton; Music Christopher Young; Art Director Michael S. Bolton

Eric Stoltz
Daphne Zuniga
Lee Richardson
John Getz
Frank Turner
Anne Marie Lee

The Fly II is an expectedly gory and gooey but mostly plodding sequel to the 1986 hit that was a remake of the 1958 sci-fier that itself spawned two sequels.

After a shock opening in which the late man-fly's son is born within a horrible insect-like encasement, slickly produced pic [story by Mick Garris] generates some promise as little Martin Brundle is raised in laboratory conditions provided by scientific tycoon Anton Bartok (Lee Richardson).

Afflicted with a dramatically accelerated lifecycle, Martin quickly demonstrates genius, and by the age of five emerges fully grown in the person of Eric Stoltz. Martin becomes determined to perfect his father's teleportation machine, which Bartok controls, and also takes an interest in researcher Beth Logan (Daphne Zuniga).

Martin gradually becomes aware that Bartok's motives are far from benign, and simultaneously begins mutating into a hideous beast while retaining his human sensibility.

By the climax, the film more closely comes to resemble Aliens than the previous Fly, as the transformed Martin hides behind walls and in the ceiling before pouncing on Bartok's goons, spitting on them, chewing them up and spitting them out.

(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1989. Running time: 105 MIN.

Variety is striving to present the most thorough review database. To report inaccuracies in review credits, please click here. We do not currently list below-the-line credits, although we hope to include them in the future. Please note we may not respond to every suggestion. Your assistance is appreciated.