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MASTERS
OF
HORROR
Season 2
Episode 7
“The Screwfly
Solution”
Teleplay by Sam Hamm; based on the novelette by James Tiptree, Jr.; directed by Joe Dante
Beginning with a tiny shot of a static-filled screen, the cathode snow dissolving into a swarm of screwflies, this terribly effective entry into the annals of apocalypse cinema winds up as the frontrunner for best episode of Season 2.
This time out, the calamity that threatens to annihilate civilization and the human race is a tailor-made virus that turns man’s own sexual drive against himself, using it as the key to the species’ destruction.
A fair amount of aggression is a significant component of the male sex drive; what this virus does is to eliminate the distinction in the male mind, turning any sexual impulse into violence, with a corresponding religious dimension to the act. Thus, loving husbands will suddenly turn on their spouses and daughters, leaving the house spattered in their blood, all because God told them to tidy up the mess. They may even belt out a refrain of “Amazing Grace” just to mellow things out.
As the Dante-Hamm tag team did in Season 1’s powerhouse “Homecoming,” they once again use the stage of the horror genre as a platform to explore social issues. In “The Screwfly Solution,” it’s the gender wars and the idea of a closet misogynist in all men. It’s the post-millennial fear of the pandemic and the anxiety over the horrifying ease with which society can crumble.
This is a bleak portrait of the genocide of our species with some effective performances, particularly from Beverly Hills 90210’s Jason Priestley, Elliott Gould, and Linda Darlow.
The scenario set out by Dante and Hamm is so terrifyingly convincing, that the eleventh hour revelation of the virus’ origins is almost unnecessary. After all, George Romero never set down in stone the exact reasons for his zombies in his Dead movies, but they’re still potent social and cultural indictments that scare the living sh*t out of us, right?
It’s even entirely possible that the cautionary tale of “The Screwfly Solution” would have been more effective without that revelation (then there would be no clear “other” to blame).
Nonetheless, Dante does a tremendous job here, and is apparently the only “Master of Horror” from the glory days of the 80’s who’s still got his chops. (Please take note, Messrs. Carpenter, Hooper, and Argento.)
Parting shot: James Tiptree, Jr. is the pen name of Alice Bradley Sheldon, who chose to write science fiction using a masculine pseudonym to help “… break down the imaginary barrier between `women’s writing’ and `men’s writing.’” (Quote from The James Tiptree, Jr. Award website. The annual Tiptree Awards are presented to works “… that explore and expand gender roles in science fiction and fantasy,” and are “… intended to reward those women and men who are bold enough to contemplate shifts and changes in gender roles, a fundamental aspect of any society.”)
Curiously enough, Sheldon wrote “The Screwfly Solution” (published in 1977 and recipient of the Nebula Award for Best Novelette) under the pseudonym “Raccoona Sheldon,” though the episode credits the story to Tiptree (presumably since that pen name is the more widely known).
(The Screwfly Solution DVD cover art courtesy of anchorbayentertainment.com.)
OF
HORROR
Season 2
Episode 7
“The Screwfly
Solution”
Teleplay by Sam Hamm; based on the novelette by James Tiptree, Jr.; directed by Joe Dante
Beginning with a tiny shot of a static-filled screen, the cathode snow dissolving into a swarm of screwflies, this terribly effective entry into the annals of apocalypse cinema winds up as the frontrunner for best episode of Season 2.
This time out, the calamity that threatens to annihilate civilization and the human race is a tailor-made virus that turns man’s own sexual drive against himself, using it as the key to the species’ destruction.
A fair amount of aggression is a significant component of the male sex drive; what this virus does is to eliminate the distinction in the male mind, turning any sexual impulse into violence, with a corresponding religious dimension to the act. Thus, loving husbands will suddenly turn on their spouses and daughters, leaving the house spattered in their blood, all because God told them to tidy up the mess. They may even belt out a refrain of “Amazing Grace” just to mellow things out.
As the Dante-Hamm tag team did in Season 1’s powerhouse “Homecoming,” they once again use the stage of the horror genre as a platform to explore social issues. In “The Screwfly Solution,” it’s the gender wars and the idea of a closet misogynist in all men. It’s the post-millennial fear of the pandemic and the anxiety over the horrifying ease with which society can crumble.
This is a bleak portrait of the genocide of our species with some effective performances, particularly from Beverly Hills 90210’s Jason Priestley, Elliott Gould, and Linda Darlow.
The scenario set out by Dante and Hamm is so terrifyingly convincing, that the eleventh hour revelation of the virus’ origins is almost unnecessary. After all, George Romero never set down in stone the exact reasons for his zombies in his Dead movies, but they’re still potent social and cultural indictments that scare the living sh*t out of us, right?
It’s even entirely possible that the cautionary tale of “The Screwfly Solution” would have been more effective without that revelation (then there would be no clear “other” to blame).
Nonetheless, Dante does a tremendous job here, and is apparently the only “Master of Horror” from the glory days of the 80’s who’s still got his chops. (Please take note, Messrs. Carpenter, Hooper, and Argento.)
Parting shot: James Tiptree, Jr. is the pen name of Alice Bradley Sheldon, who chose to write science fiction using a masculine pseudonym to help “… break down the imaginary barrier between `women’s writing’ and `men’s writing.’” (Quote from The James Tiptree, Jr. Award website. The annual Tiptree Awards are presented to works “… that explore and expand gender roles in science fiction and fantasy,” and are “… intended to reward those women and men who are bold enough to contemplate shifts and changes in gender roles, a fundamental aspect of any society.”)
Curiously enough, Sheldon wrote “The Screwfly Solution” (published in 1977 and recipient of the Nebula Award for Best Novelette) under the pseudonym “Raccoona Sheldon,” though the episode credits the story to Tiptree (presumably since that pen name is the more widely known).
(The Screwfly Solution DVD cover art courtesy of anchorbayentertainment.com.)
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