Masters of Horror: The Screwfly Solution (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Joe Dante's "Homecoming" for Showtime's "Masters of Horror" anthology series was easily the controversial high point of Season One. Alternately described as "brilliant" and "complete trash," there were very few who straddled the middle on this political zombie satire. Needless to say, this intrigued me to contemplate how Dante would follow up this divisive little tale. Well, for Season Two, Dante clocks in with "The Screwfly Solution." It certainly has a provocative topic, and is the ultimate battle of the sexes--but I suspect that it is a lot less likely to engender the passionate debate of "Homecoming." That is not a criticism, however, as I think this episode stands as one of the more sophisticated entries we've seen so far!
Contemplating the end of the world, "Screwfly" offers a new take on the apocalypse genre. A virus affecting men is discovered where if the man is to become sexually aroused--his feelings end up turning to a murderous rage. Needless to say, this doesn't bode well for the women of the world--as this rage is directed at them! While this may, on the surface, seem to be a bit (or a lot) misogynistic--the disease is handled well and its repercussions are real, unpleasant and not taken lightly. The principles include Jason Priestly and Elliott Gould as researchers trying to combat the virus, but this just may take the ultimate toll on their families.
"Screwfly" may not be scary in the traditional sense if you're looking for quick thrills, but the premise is chilling and disturbing and it leads to appropriate gruesomeness. The tale is well acted and sometimes harrowing, with an emotional context I haven't found often in the "Masters of Horror" series. In fact, through most of the film, I thought I might be scoring this episode at 5 stars--that's how pleasantly surprised I was by this tale. The end scenes, however, may be a bit prolonged for some viewers. That didn't bother me as it brought the real domestic dilemma of this story to the forefront. But, at the last minute, the film provides us with an unnecessary explanation for the whole catastrophe which was both unnecessary and not worthy of what has preceded it. This terrific tale went wrong in the end, but that doesn't keep it from being one of the best this show had to offer! KGHarris, 04/07.

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