The Fly
The Fly is iconic for its premise, but its execution leaves much to be desired. It tries to turn a typically feathery 1950s nuclear family idyll on its ear with a scientific experiment gone horribly wrong, but ultimately only reinforces the status quo with a wholly undeserved happy ending. With the hero trapped unnoticed in plain sight, and the heroine taking the fall for his murder, the story is ready to end on a note of perfectly tragic irony. But instead of him being devoured by a spider and her being carted off to the loony bin, Vincent Price swoops in to save the day. The heroine is exonerated, the tragic hero’s death is spun as intrepid, scientific nobility, and we fade to black amidst abundant smiles. It’s an incredible wasted opportunity.