The Fly (1958), Return of the Fly (1959), and Curse of the Fly (1965)

Among the many films in which deviant mad scientists pay the price for meddling with forces beyond human understanding, The Fly stands apart. Released in 1958, it presents a scientist whose intentions are genuinely noble: someone striving to create something that could benefit humanity. Unfortunately, an unforeseen accident turns his dream into a nightmare, and tragedy soon follows. While the film ultimately becomes a monster story, it offers far more than a typical 1950s creature feature.

And, of course, when a film succeeds at the box office, sequels are inevitable. In this case, two followed, even if the third took six years to arrive. Across all three films, the Delambre family's experiments—and mistakes—continue, once again exacting a terrible toll in life, sanity, and suffering.

Fans often disagree about which entry is the strongest, which is underrated, and which falls short, so we decided to take a deep dive into the entire trilogy. Along the way, we may give you a few new things to think about the next time you watch these films. And if you hear any buzzing while listening to the show, I'm sure it's nothing.

Films mentioned in this episode:

The Black Cat (1989), The Black Room (1935), Blood Feast (1963), The Blues Brothers (1980), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Curse of the Fly (1965), The Death Dealers aka Psychomania (1973), Demonia (1990), The Devil's Honey (1986), The Exorcist (1973), The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Fly (1958), The Fly (1986), Frankenstein (1931), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Kiss of the Vampire (1963), Mark of the Vampire (1935), Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Psycho (1960), Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966), Return of the Fly (1959), Space Master X-7 (1958), Touch of Death (1988), To the Devil a Daughter (1976), The Vampire (1957), Witchcraft (1964)