Powerful

How sad is this?

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

After "Homecoming", barely mediocre episode of the first season, Joe Dante has big comeback in the second. Although "The Screwfly Solution" is a very disturbing movie with occasional gore, this is more SF drama than horror. Through the story of the virus epidemic, which turns sexual drive among men into an urge to exterminate the women, this film deals with topics such as misogyny, radical Islam, radical Christianity, domestic violence, global warming, bird flu, and the question of whether the human race is a parasite that the Earth should be freed of. Although you will not be frightened and forced to watch it through your fingers, the film maintains a decent level of tension and leaves a much deeper sense of fear and nausea than classical horror, as it deals with topics that we face on a daily basis in reality, and which, at least at the subconscious level, keep us in constant fear.8/10Near the end of the episode, there's a visually very impressive SF scene, which I can not describe without spoilers, but which is really shame to miss. And there's also Brandon from "Beverly Hills 90210" in the main male role. Watch it, you won't be disappointed.

This is perhaps the best medium budget horror I've seen. Every part is excellent with no part letting down the whole. The writing is good bordering on great, it's got solid science behind it and that makes it scary. In the original short story, which I read some years back, the scientist was the main point of view character whereas in this case it's his wife but that arrangement is actually more suited to the audiovisual medium where it's harder to represent the internal dialogue that made the written version so effective. It also allows the story to be expanded in ways that would have been impractical in the written version.The pacing and direction are good and.. who is this Kerry Norton woman and why haven't we seen her before? She's awesome, both as a dramatic actress as well as being just freakin' *hot*; absolutely perfect for the role and she puts in a standout performance here throughout.And while we're on the subject of performances, this just in, Jason Priestly _can_act_.. I know. I could hardly believe it either but he puts on a really good show here. Admitedly they kept things fairly straightforward for him but nonetheless he carried it off well and brought out some surprising dramatic emotion when it counted.So overall, a well produced, well acted flawless envisioning of a great and quite frightening short story. I recommend it highly.

A strange and lethal virus causes men to go insane and savagely murder women in a psychotic fit of religious fervor whenever they are sexually aroused. Scientists Alan (an engaging performance by Jason Priestley) and Barney (the always excellent Elliott Gould) try to find a cure while Alan's feisty wife Anne (well played by the lovely Kerry Norton) and spunky daughter Amy (the solid Brenna O'Brien) flee to the woods of Canada where it's still safe. Director Joe Dante, working from a bold and biting by Sam Hamm, delivers a chilling mix of stinging social commentary and unsettling doomsday end-of-the-world thriller that offers plenty of spot-on incisive stuff about religious fanaticism run dangerously amok, misogynistic male violence against women, and how mankind's own self-destructive nature will eventually turn on him. Moreover, Dante relates the gripping story at a snappy pace, maintains a grimly serious tone throughout, stages the jolting moments of brutal violence with unflinching explicitness (an alarming psychotic outburst in a strip club is especially potent and upsetting), and adds a wickedly amusing line in pitch-black humor to further spice up the already tasty brew. Hummie Mann's spooky'n'shivery score and Attila Szalay's glossy, intimate cinematography are both top-notch. The acting is uniformly sound as well, with Linda Darlow a stand-out as sarcastic epidemiologist Bella. The surprise twist ending packs quite a punch. A praiseworthy sci-fi/horror winner.

and i think it's better by a longshot than the majority of other masters of horror episodes, but i really think the 'alien species is slowly eradicating the population of earth' was a fairly anticlimactic ending and i wish it had been left out. everything i had seen up to that point was scary and effective for me, not to mention deeply disturbing. i would have been more than happy to have been left in the dark as to why or how it all started. learning the cause of the violence wasn't necessary for my enjoyment.i know the aliens are present in the original short story, but i didn't think they worked well in the context of a one-hour episode.elliott gould was great and jason priestly (shockingly) both did admirably well in their roles.flawed, but worth your while anyhow.