
Kurt Neumann directs Vincent Price, David Hedison and Patricia Owens in this atomic sci-fi horror about a scientist who accidentally fuses himself with a bluebottle.
Nowhere near as totalitarian in executing its concept nor as gorily unpleasant as Cronenberg ‘s 80s remake, this often straddles the perverse fence of being both campily dated and remarkably inventive for its time. A certain hysterical hopelessness pervades it that outlives mere cheap jump scares. The mystery that bookends the slight tale of a scientist who buzzes too close to the sun is a smart play and the FX are quickly effective when glimpsed. Price, especially, but Owens also, are charming leads – much like Goldblum and Davis would later prove to be in the superior update.
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