The Screwfly Solution (2006)

The Worst Film Ever

Powerful

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

After "Homecoming", barely mediocre episode of the first season, Joe Dante has big comeback in the second. Although "The Screwfly Solution" is a very disturbing movie with occasional gore, this is more SF drama than horror. Through the story of the virus epidemic, which turns sexual drive among men into an urge to exterminate the women, this film deals with topics such as misogyny, radical Islam, radical Christianity, domestic violence, global warming, bird flu, and the question of whether the human race is a parasite that the Earth should be freed of. Although you will not be frightened and forced to watch it through your fingers, the film maintains a decent level of tension and leaves a much deeper sense of fear and nausea than classical horror, as it deals with topics that we face on a daily basis in reality, and which, at least at the subconscious level, keep us in constant fear.8/10Near the end of the episode, there's a visually very impressive SF scene, which I can not describe without spoilers, but which is really shame to miss. And there's also Brandon from "Beverly Hills 90210" in the main male role. Watch it, you won't be disappointed.

I'll be the last one to deny that Joe Dante deserves praise for films like "Piranha", "The Howling" and even "Gremlins", but his contributions to "Masters Of Horror" both rank among the lesser episodes of the series. This seventh episode of the second season, "The Screwfly Solution" definitely has its qualities, but it also lacks in many departments. The episode is based on the acclaimed short story of the same name by Alice Sheldon (written under her pen name 'James Trippee Jr.'), which I haven't read. For some reason, most MoH episodes that try to deliver something political seem to fail as true Horror films. This is also the case with "The Screwfly Solution". The idea behind "The Screwfly Solution" was probably to make a socio-critical comment rather than to deliver pure Horror or genuine scares. Maybe this was also the case with the story - as stated above, I haven't read it. The episode is about a mysterious, rapidly spreading virus that, for some reason, makes men murderously aggressive towards women... The episode is not terribly suspenseful, so there should be a message behind it. Now, what does this episode want to tell us? That there is too much violence against women, and that violence against women is bad? I agree, of course, as anybody in their right mind would, but I certainly didn't need a "Masters of Horror" episode to tell me that. Even worse, Dante throws in comedy again. Some female characters seem deliberately made to be annoying, and it sometimes seems as if Dante is unable to decide whether to make a comment against violence against women, or actually provide some understanding for the men's aggression. The episode is not without irony, of course, and, as stated above, it does have its qualities. It does make a point, even though, in my opinion, not a very memorable one, and the performances are good. English actress Kerry Norton is great as the protagonist, and the episode also stars none other than the great Elliott Gould in a supporting role. I wasn't so happy about the casting of soap opera actor Jason Priestley at first, but he is actually decent enough in his role. Overall, the episode has some qualities, as far as I am concerned, it is only recommendable to enthusiastic fans of "Masters Of Horror".

and i think it's better by a longshot than the majority of other masters of horror episodes, but i really think the 'alien species is slowly eradicating the population of earth' was a fairly anticlimactic ending and i wish it had been left out. everything i had seen up to that point was scary and effective for me, not to mention deeply disturbing. i would have been more than happy to have been left in the dark as to why or how it all started. learning the cause of the violence wasn't necessary for my enjoyment.i know the aliens are present in the original short story, but i didn't think they worked well in the context of a one-hour episode.elliott gould was great and jason priestly (shockingly) both did admirably well in their roles.flawed, but worth your while anyhow.

I'm conflicted about this MOH. On one hand, its original source material was clearly supposed to deal with gender relations and the fears of a sex which ultimately always has to wonder (maybe not so deep down inside) whether that nice, well-mannered fellow buying them a drink might be an axe murderer. On the other, we have gratuitous sex scenes and a nice long look at a titty bar, ostensibly because it's a murder scene. So clearly there's a conflict of interest here.Ultimately, it's the idiocy of all the characters that really ruined it for me. The wife is a blubbering mess who can't control her bratty daughter, the bratty daughter is obviously pumped so full of faux Spice Girls feminism she thinks that shaking her ass in front of potentially murderous construction workers is a good idea, and the husband ultimately refuses to take a shot that could protect him from the screaming crazies (a shot I'm assuming is some form of chemical castration) because "I'd know if I had psychotic symptoms... right?" Basically, the women are mostly portrayed as screaming hysterics, and men as crazed religious freaks. The only redeeming character is Elliot Gould as Barney, a kindly gay man and the only purveyor of sanity in crazy town -- and he doesn't even have that big a role. Basically, this is like an episode of The Outer Limits -- ignore the fact that all the characters are incompetent idiots, and you might be able to enjoy the underlying idea.