The Brood Blu-ray Review

21st Jul 2013

Not long after the release of Scanners, Second Sight Films bring us another slice of twisted cinema from Director David Cronenberg with the UK Blu Ray debut of The Brood.

Released 2 years prior to Scanners, The Brood is a masterpiece of disturbing cinema history and has had a well-deserved upgrade to the HD format.

The Brood boasts a strong cast with the late great Oliver Reed (Gladiator, The Devils), Art Hindle (Invasion of the body snatchers) and Samantha Edgar (The Exterminator).

The Brood tells the tale of Frank Carveth (Hindle) and his ex-wife Nola (Edgar), who is receiving unconventional therapy at the Somafree institute of psychoplasmics, under the care of the new wave psychiatrist Dr Raglan (Reed). Frank has concerns over Nola’s treatment when their daughter Candy (played by Cindy Hinds), is discovered to be covered in small bites and bruises at a weekend visit.

Dr Raglan’s extreme methods seek to unleash rage in his patients and take on a physical form, such as rashes or hives. But Nola’s rage manifests into something worse…… Much worse! Nola’s rage takes the form of malicious killer dwarfs who will maim and kill anybody at whom Nola focuses her anger.

When Candy is abducted from school, Frank is led to Dr Ragen’s institute where the most vulgar and terrifying final scenes of Cronenberg’s bizarre tale unfold!

Second Sight has unleashed this film in an outstanding Blu Ray transfer with a crisp picture surpassing a few of their early efforts. This release also has some of the best bonus features of their back catalogue with 5 interviews with cast and crew including the man himself, David Cronenberg.

Meet The Carveths, is a great interview with Hindle and Hinds being reunited to discuss the making of the Brood, even revisiting the one of the locations from the film.

The Look of Rage, is an in depth interview with the films cinematographer Mark Irwin.

Producing the Brood and Character for Cronenberg, sees great interviews with producer Pierre David and actor Robert A. Silverman respectively.

Last but definitely by no means least, Cronenberg: The Early Years is a fascinating interview with writer/director David Cronenberg on how he broke into film making.

For fans of Cronenberg’s work, this is a must have for your collection and will probably be the closest to a definitive edition that we will ever see.

If you’ve never seen the Brood, then what are you waiting for? This is a must see for any horror fans portfolio.

The Brood is out Now on the Second Sight Films label.