The Return of the Fly (1959)

The makers of Return of the Fly had a problem; the original movie was so popular, that not doing a sequel would seem a foolish waste of an opportunity. But producer/director Kurt Neumann, who had made The Fly -- and who had been largely responsible for making it work so well overall -- had passed away during the summer of 1958. Additionally, what could be done with a sequel to that film? Everyone attending would already know what the monster in the story looked like, having seen the original. There would be no way of sustaining the suspense, or moving a plot line forward by hiding the appearance of the monster, as Neumann had done in the original film, nor would there be any "sense-of-wonder" to be found in the notion of the matter transmitter. Even worse, Return of the Fly was to be shot in black-and-white, so the proposed film wouldn't even have the allure of color to attract audiences. Out of sheer expediency, Return of the Fly was done as a crime-thriller as much as a sci-fi movie, its plot involving criminals and using a manhunt to keep most of its story moving forward. Given that decision, and the limitations of time and budget, it's a surprisingly enjoyable film, without actually being an especially "good" movie. It is far less suspenseful than its predecessor (it lacks a certain "buzz," you might say), but easy enough to appreciate in its quick pacing and relatively uninvolving, superficial nature. Only Vincent Price seems to really be trying hard among the cast and he seems ready to pass out from the exertion of not cracking up over his more dramatic and absurd lines of dialogue. Dan Seymour is also somewhat memorable as an unscrupulous mortician and receiver of stolen goods, who gets more than he bargained for from his nefarious activities. The special effects are decent; one scene, involving a man whose limbs are transposed with those of a laboratory rat, is expecially nasty, while the shots of the fly-sized creature with Philippe's head are ridiculous and not remotely as effective as their equivalents in the first movie. The appearance of the man-sized fly is perhaps even scarier than the design used in the original film, with an oversized head and gruesome detail in the "face." Incidentally, the producers felt compelled to show the fly-monster in advance when promoting this movie, as opposed to the way they kept the appearance of the monster in the first film a secret in the publicity; it is a still of Return of the Fly's monster, rather than the monster from The Fly, that is usually printed in modern articles about and mentions of the original film. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide