After the success of ‘The Fly’ it would be less than 12 months before the (pretty much) inevitable sequel hit screens. And, well…mixed bag is probably the best way to frame what you’ll be getting into if you choose to check this one out.

For a starters ‘cinescope’ colour are out and we’re back to black and white for this entry, as we jump forward in time AT LEAST 10-15 years from the first film. And we open with the funeral of Helene who, after 10 years of trying to process the horrific events that led to the death of her husband Andre took her own life. Francois has become something of a mentor for their son Phillipe, and after being hounded by the press over events Phillipe knows very little about. Francois decides now is probably the best time to set the record straight about what killed his parents.

Taking him down to Andres old lab, Phillipe is fascinated by his fathers work and feels compelled to pick up where his dad left off, much to Francois protestation. It doesnt take long for Phillipe to hold back no longer, and on headhunting one of Francois’s top men, Phillipe reopens the lab and begins the experiments once again. Only this time, Francois catches on fairly early as to whats going on and essentially says ‘Well. If I cant stop you from doing this, i’ll at least join in and try to protect you where I can.’

The experiments make great progress and it looks like the team are on the verge of making some significant inroads on the process. But it doesnt take long for things to sour, as Phillipes business partner Ronald, makes a back room dodgey deal with a rival company, promising to steal and sell the details of this transportation device AND get Phillipe out of the picture for a decent sized pay off.

And from there, there are altercations…one thing leads to another and another ‘Fly Man’ is created who goes on the run for a bit…you…you can already see where this is going.

An uninspired sequel to 1958’s ‘The Fly’ but not an uninteresting one. ‘Return of the Fly’ is essentially every Universal monster movie sequel refined to a limber hour and 20.

The script is a bit of a game of two halves. On the one hand, I like that they open the film with a brief recap, and then get stuck right into getting fly people wandering about. The last film drove more on suspense and thrills, where as this is a more traditional monster movie. The problem is, our Fly man…doesnt really do very much…rather; he just sort of bumbles about until he’s recaptured. Living just long enough to kill a couple of people for plot purposes…

the pacings much more spry than the first film, but with that comes uneven tonal moments, the film cant seem to decide how much horror it wants to put in vs how much of a thriller/suspense picture it wants to be. And the result is a film that feels in places a little undercooked, and at times a bit rushed. The Characters dont seem as well developed, with only Francois really being retained from the previous film, and he spends a not insignificant chunk of the runtime in a hospital bed (an easy paycheque for Vincent Price)

The film does end satisfactorally, and the story its trying to tell is fine enough, but this very much feels like a film that rushed into production to try and strike while the iron is hot, and the end result is a film that just doesnt feel as fun or interesting as the first film. It instead feels like a film thats just trying to do more of the first films schtick, but now with a slight twinge of desperation to keep people in their seats.

The direction is also a bit less interesting, the loss of colour for this feature is a major hit to the production, but the special effects budget has also taken a hit, this kind of works in the films favour however, ecause the production cost slump really makes some of the practical effects noticably corny.

Theres less experimentation, less interest in doing interesting things with the lighting or cast placement. A lot of this film is just the cast sat at tables or desks, or stood next to beds…Its a functional work, but I dont think its one that would be standout and reflective of its genre.

Same goes for the cine, the height of experimenation for this feature is some slightly dutch angles…thats the bar. Theres a reliance on stock footage to smooth over a lot of cracks. and while i’ll absolutely say the lab scenes here, for my money look nicer than those from ‘The Fly’ again, that lack of colour removes such a level of dimension from the production, that the whole thing ends up feeling rather drab and clinical…and not intentionally so either.

Add to this that the cast here just…arnt as lively or interesting as the first film, with Brett halsey as Phillipe mustering and enthusiastic physical performance, but not really anything i’d say was notably standout. And. David Frankham as Ronald just about cutting the mustard as our antagonist for the production…It comes to something when Vincent Price is the best part of this movie, and he doesnt really even do much.

All in all? If you just finished ‘The Fly’ and were ‘Buzzed’ for more of the same. This is quite literally that. it doesnt take things to the next level, it isnt trying to do better than the first film. if anything, its a sequel that largely holds position steadily just below the first film quality wise. If ‘The Fly’ is a great creature feature movie of this period of time, ‘Return of the Fly’ is a passably okay way to kill an hour and 20. temper your expectations, and im sure you’ll be fine.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/return-of-the-fly/