Cujo108 Based on the short story of the same name, Joe Dante's contribution to the second season of "MOH" is a colossal improvement over his season one debacle. Men in the southern states are showing vicious signs of aggression towards women and murdering them at a rapid rate. The men believe they've been spoken to by God, and a cult known as "The Sons of Adam" takes hold. The religious fervor turns out to be a symptom of some unknown disease which takes hold when men are aroused. Alan and Barney are two biologists just back from Colombia where they were working on an enzyme to disrupt the mating process of the parasitic canefly. Called in by the government to determine what is happening, they quickly realize that it's a similar scenario to how they were tricking the canefly into eradicating itself, but who is behind it? As the symptomatic aggression spreads northward, Alan warns his wife and daughter to go as far north as possible while he searches for a cure. I was very happy to see that Dante avoided the camp this time around. "The Screwfly Solution" is a very pessimistic tale, and I was worried he might possibly give it the "Homecoming" treatment. Not the case, thankfully. I'm pleased to say that any attempts at humor here are of the jet-black variety. Take, for instance, the sequence on the airplane where Alan awakens from a nightmare only to witness an even more nightmarish situation. It's a disturbing scene, but there's also some very dark humor in there.I loved the opening sequence detailing the actual screwfly solution that was utilized against the screw-worm back in 1982. It really set the mood for what would follow. The episode is suitably bleak with Dante adding some of his own unique flavor into the mix as well. Along with the previously mentioned humor, there's also an abundance of social commentary. Not that the source material didn't have it's fair share, as it did, but Dante ups the ante considerably. While he touches on things like terrorism and global warming, the main themes are still those of the original story, radical religious extremism and violence towards women.There was only one change from the short story that I didn't agree with. Considering the prior phone call, Alan showing up at the cabin seemed a little off to me. The scene also made the daughter's actions seem less believable than they were in the original tale. In fact, the daughter was a complete idiot and I was happy when she died. Other than her stupidity, I'd say the episode is damn near flawless. Former "Beverly Hills 90210" pretty boy, Jason Priestley, was far better than I thought he would be. He's especially good once he realizes that he's infected. His phone conversation with his wife is very well-played, as is the later scene with him in the cabin. Kerry Norton is equally good, and Elliott Gould offers solid support.I thought Dante and company really nailed the look of the aliens. They do look as described in the short story, like walking Christmas trees. I thought the final scene to be quite poignant. Speaking of the source material, it goes into a bit further detail on the religious aspect than the episode did. Out of all the episodes in the two "Masters of Horror" seasons, this and "Dance of the Dead" were not only the best, but they were also the only two that I feel could and should have been stretched out into feature length films. Regardless, they're both better than many films that do get released to theaters. "The Screwfly Solution" is provocative and frightening. More horror filmmakers should aspire to tackle such ambitious projects. As for the "Masters of Horror" series, I'm sorry to say that this was the last quality episode the show produced. The six that came after it took a nosedive into pure tripe.Now, if only Stuart Gordon would get around to doing that adaptation of Jack Ketchum's "Ladies' Night" he was said to be interested in doing a while back... A similar story with the gender roles reversed, it would make for a damn fine companion piece to what Dante has accomplished here.

esben6 The end of a movie is often what determines the overall impression of a movie. It can ruin everything or it can throw magi dust on the one and a half hour, where you where bored as hell. I actually didn't find the this episode so special along the way, but the end is pretty breath taking and makes this little short movie as a hole stand out as little masterpiece. It leaves you with this magical feeling of not really knowing what the movie you just saw was about. Is it about sexuality, nature or just something unspeakable? The answer remains a question.The acting is also not that bad, especially when you consider it is a TV-movie.

Jonny_Numb 'The Screwfly Solution' is a refreshing rebound for Joe Dante, whose Season 1 "Masters of Horror" entry ('Homecoming') did very little for me. By toning down the ham-fisted sociopolitical satire of that episode, the director invokes a distinctly darker tone here. 'Screwfly' manages to go places that are extreme even for a show that prides itself on its freedom from meddling network censors (for the most part). The plot pertains to a plague that sweeps across the world, inexplicably converting male sexual urges to homicide, resulting in mass genocide of the female population; scientists Jason Priestley (surprisingly effective) and Elliott Gould (bringing a good mix of autumnal wisdom and flamboyant humor to the proceedings) are left to discover a cure as months pass and the epidemic escalates to a critical level. While many MOH episodes have been erratic in tone, script, or performance, 'Screwfly' is very consistent in those important aspects--the allegory is presented in a low-key manner by focusing on one family's crisis, and the resulting apocalypse is fittingly desperate and surprisingly palpable. Common, mundane activities like going to a store, boarding an airplane, or hosing off a patio cleverly tap into the natural human fear of our facades of safety being rendered 'unsafe.' Unfortunately, my second viewing of the episode was less fulfilling than the first--there are a lot of visceral shocks to be experienced (including a very disturbing scene in a strip club) that come off as somewhat diluted. Despite this, 'Screwfly' remains one of "Masters"' best offerings--even better for Dante, who sheds his comic-horror roots for something more sobering and serious.

Paul Andrews Masters of Horror: The Screwfly Solution starts as America is being infected by an airborne virus that affects the male population, when aroused men indiscriminately kill any woman in sight apparently in the name of God. Scientist Alan (Jasn Priestley) is brought in by the Government & knows more than most & senses the situation may have gone too far already so he tells his wife Anne (Kerry Norton) to take their teenage daughter Amy (Brenna O'Brien) & try to survive as the future of the human race may depend on them...This Canadian American co-production was episode 7 from season 2 of the Masters of Horrror TV series, directed by Joe Dante I thought The Screwfly Solution was pretty bad. I personally think the script by Sam Hamm sucks, it takes itself far too seriously & I don't really understand why it's part of the Masters of Horror series, the horror that the filmmakers are going for in The Screwfly Solution is in the actual story itself & themes & ideas it brings up rather than on screen visual horror particularly the tenuous ecological message it sees intent on ramming down our throats whenever it's gets the chance during it's short 60 odd minute running time which I felt itself was a problem as the thing just finishes out of what could easily be interpreted as necessity rather than any meaningful attempt to wrap things up. I wasn't happy with the inconsistencies with the story either, if men only kill when sexually aroused why does the flight attendant casually break that woman's neck on the plane? Was he sexually aroused, I think not. Why does every bloke then think he's killing in the name of God? I just can't see every single bloke on Earth suddenly knowing the Bible & starting to believe in God, I just found the notion ridiculous & the show also states clearly that there's nothing religious about what's going on so what's the deal with everyone thinking they have a divine to murder any woman they see? Then there's the fact people get turned on by different things, what about gays for instance? Will they kill guys instead of women? I know there's a brief scene which makes a joke out of the gay issue but it's conveniently brushed to one side & then there's the thing which annoyed me the most. The fact that presumably every bloke on earth has turned psycho & killed all the women they go about their everyday business like nothing ever happened, it just felt so stupid, the plotting is rubbish & to round things off there's a ending which looks like it was taken from a rejected episode of The X-Files (1993 - 2002) with a bright neon alien.Director Dante on this showing definitely doesn't qualify as a Master of Horror as far a I'm concerned, the story is badly paced, it's just so stupid considering it's played deadly straight & instead of trying to make a proper horror show he turns in more of a thriller with it's deadly virus on the loose situation & the subsequent mother & daughter on the run because of it, there's very little here in the way of what I would call effective horror & even less gore. There's a scene when a woman is stabbed with a broken bottle, a brief scene after when a guy stabs his own groin with said bottle & another woman is stabbed in the stomach but nothing else to write home about.Technically like the other episodes it's really good & it doesn't have the look of a cheap TV series, the special effects are great as usual & it's well made. The acting is alright but no-one really stood out.The Screwfly Solution is easily the worst Masters of Horror episode I've seen but bear in mind I haven't seen all of them... yet. As a stand alone piece of entertainment it did nothing for me & as a show made by a so-called Master of Horror it disappoints me even more.