“The Fly,” October 29

Wednesday, October 29, 7 p.m.

Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL

With the Oscar-winning 1986 hit enjoying a local showing just in time for Halloween, Rozz-Tox guests are invited to "Be afraid ... be very afraid" on October 29 when the Rock Island venue screens David Cronenberg's The Fly as part of the community series Filmosofia, this evening in Rock Island also featuring a reading discussion on the movie's philosophical themes hosted by Augustana College's Dr. Deke Gould.

Loosely based on George Langelaan's 1957 short story and the 1958 feature film of the same name, The Fly tells of brilliant and eccentric scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), who attempts to woo investigative journalist Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) by offering her a scoop on his latest research in the field of matter transportation. Against all the expectations of the scientific establishment, his experiments have proved successful ... up to a point. Brundle, however, thinks he has ironed out the last problem when he successfully transports a living creature. It's after he attempts to teleport himself, a common housefly having entered one of the transmission booths, that Brundle finds he is a changed man, and is slowly turning into a ravenous, violent, rather disgusting fly-hybrid creature.

Earning more than $60 million at the global box office and an Academy Award for Best Makeup, The Fly currently holds a 93-percent "freshness" rating on aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, where the critical consensus reads: "David Cronenberg combines his trademark affinity for gore and horror with strongly developed characters, making The Fly a surprisingly affecting tragedy." The Chicago Tribune called Cronenberg's hit "a rare personal work of art that is also a commercial success," while Time magazine wrote that The Fly was "a shocking horror film and also the most touching romance film of the year." In 2005, Time's film critics Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel went on to include The Fly in their list of "All-Time 100 Movies," while the Daily Star ranked Cronenberg's movie at the top of its list of greatest short-story adaptations, praising the film for "exhibit[ing] how greater a short story can evolve, and very much become its own detached, barely recognisable thing."

The Fly will be shown in the Filmosofia series on October 29, and the 7 p.m. screening will be preceded by a 6:30 p.m. discussion on a selection from David Lewis' 1976 work Survival & Identity (print copies available at the venue). The screening will followed by Dr. Deke Gould's discussion of the movie, admission to the all-ages event is free (though the movie itself is rated R), and more information is available by calling (309)200-0978 and visiting RozzTox.com.