CheerupSilver
Very Cool!!!
Vashirdfel
Simply A Masterpiece
Coventry
With only one more "Masters of Horror" episode yet to see (that one being "Valerie on the Stairs"), I can now safely begin to list my favorites and least favorites of the series. "The Screwfly Solution" is definitely in my top three of favorite episodes and I already regret that I kept it as one of the last ones to check out. This short movie has an excellent story outline, perhaps even the best of ALL "Master of Horror" episodes, and benefices tremendously from the skills and experience of its director Joe Dante. Most episodes in the franchise rely on gore and awkwardness, but "The Screwfly Solution" is the sole episode that is truly thought-provoking, disturbing and petrifying. Of course, Dante wouldn't be himself if he didn't also grab the opportunity to insert a lot of social satire and pitch-black humor, so the wholesome remains supportable in spite of the heavy themes of depressing content. The outbreak of a mysterious and horrifying virus threatens the survival of humanity. Suddenly, and without a confirmed origin, all males in the Northern hemisphere develop extremely misogynic sentiments and proceed to killing females without any form of remorse or guilt. Scientist Alan and his best friend Barney are convinced this is some sort of terrorist attack and desperately attempt to find a cure. Alan nevertheless notices the virus infects him as well and encourages his wife and daughter to travel as far North as possible. "The Screwfly Solution" has a unique and original narrative structure. For example, the film opens with (genuine?) documentary footage about the extinction of the parasite screw-worm fly. The connection with the events in the film only become apparent once the story develops itself. This, as well as other small gimmicks, makes "The Srewfly Solution" one of the most intelligent and profound episodes of the two seasons combined. Most of the "MoH" episodes are notorious for being a gore-galore (like "Pro-Life" and "Jenifer"), but this is a different type of masterful horror film- making. The gore and bloodshed are kept to a minimum, but numerous sequences are genuinely tense and disturbing, like the scene inside the airplane. Also, Joe Dante's social criticism here is much more subtle and effective than in, say, his previous episode "Homecoming". The episode deals with political statements, xenophobia, post 9/11 paranoia, but it doesn't get shoved down your throat so obviously. The only minor complaints that I have about this episode are the dubious ending and, quite frankly, the fact that it wasn't a long-feature film. One last thing that pleasantly surprised me about "The Screwfly Solution" is the more than adequate acting performance of Jason Priestley. I honestly must admit I only know him as handsome teen-girl idol Brandon in the early 90's TV-show "Beverly Hills 90210", but here he demonstrates that he has become a very mature and charismatic lead actor. It's a shame that he isn't starring in more movies. Highly recommended. It's in my personal top three of "Masters of Horror" episodes, alongside "Imprint" and "The Fair-Haired Child".
Coog30
This is certainly among the poorer efforts of the series. The acting is decent, I suppose, though any shortcomings in that regard are probably the fault of the shoddy dialogue, rather than the fault of the cast's acting chops.What stands out the most to me is the lackluster writing. Honestly, it's just utterly lazy and bad. Other reviewers have commented, applauding the film for the sheer scope of the issues that are addressed, like global warming, Islamic fundamentalism, radical Christianity, bird flu, etc. Of course, to say these issues are "addressed" is a gross understatement. It would be more apt to say that these issues, and the author's opinions on these issues, are screamed into the audience's face at most points in the movie, with all the allegorical tact of a PETA commercial.All told, it's obvious that the writer and director felt the audience couldn't grasp the everyday concepts they predictably lay out, so it comes off like a fire-and-brimstone preacher forcefully indoctrinating the audience with the tried-and-true idea that "human beings and human nature are a cancer to the Earth." If I wanted to watch poorly written, unoriginal, and blatant hyperbole about how bad humans are for not taking care of the planet, I could just watch Avatar again.Too bad, too. I really like Joe Dante, and the concept itself had potential before it became mucked up by poorly written, ineffective social commentary.
Dalazen_Junior
The Screwfly Solution was my first entry with the Masters of Horror series and it remains my favorite one. The idea to bring awesome directors together and allow them sixty and so minutes to tell their scary stories is brilliant and a gift for the horror fans everywhere. Although I loved every episode of the series, The Screwfly Solution won a special place in my heart. It may be the most compelling piece of paranoia driven end of the world theme I've ever seen. Although made for TV, it remains better than most of the flicks that tried to tackle the subject of the world coming to an end and how we would behave in such dreaded circumstances. Ihe story is beautifully told and never seems rushed. Director Joe Dante made good use of his sixty minutes to give us a beginning, a middle and a pessimistic ending, in this odd and scary homage to the old horror classics, with a mixture of an outbreak spreading through the world fast (Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later), people revealing their ugliest facades under stress (Day of the Dead, Deliverance) and the fact that human being, not being able to take care of themselves, will have to be exterminated by a superior, otherworldly race of beings, so Earth, a naturally beautiful place, may survive and go on. Elliot Gould's performance was a joy to watch, outstanding supporting performance by him, a sympathetic older character who knows too well where the world is heading.
Bjorn (ODDBear)
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.
