This remake of the 1958 original is given a thorough re-working by Cronenberg who applies his usual veneer of thoroughly nasty creature effects.

Your mad scientist for this interpretation is Jeff Goldblum who plays his role half stand-up, half oozing monster. Of course when love interest Geena Davis meets up with him at a boffin knees-up he's wholly human and rather excited about his new teleportation device. Davis is sceptical but as a reporter for 'Particle Magazine' (top shelf reading for amoeba) she needs a story.

Back at his spacious warehouse she's suitably wowed by his booths until he teleports a baboon only for it to emerge at the other end a gasping, sticky mess. Unfortunately the booths only seem to work on inanimate matter, and it's Goldblum's obsession to repair this fault and Geena's quest to cover this story that occupies the first half of the film.

That's it until Goldblum suspects Geena of going back to her editor boyfriend and in a drunken rage puts himself through the booths not realising there's a stowaway fly on board too. This is where the whole tempo of the film alters from third-rate B-movie to utterly fascinating all-out gross fest.

Firmly rooted in the type of film he does best, Cronenberg unleashes a series of nauseating effects as Goldblum transforms into a fly over a period of weeks. Along with his looks goes his personality and while this provides some tension, it really is the gruesome nature of his downfall that is the main feature of this otherwise unremarkable film.