“There is a uniquely terrifying aspect to transformation in body horror – the unrecognizability, the irreversibility, the complete loss of the self, and the loss of the social power offered by healthier flesh. David Cronenberg’s The Fly, an essential figure in the genre, examines profoundly the loss of the self through the loss of the body. Seth Brundle’s (Jeff Goldblum) physical transformation, from eccentric scientist to assumed superhuman to Brundlefly – the combination of Brundle and a housefly – illustrates a scientific ambition gone horribly wrong, resulting in a disastrous tragedy. It’s a parable on the spectacle we hope for our bodies, undermined by the frailty of our flesh.”