The Fly (1958)
“Help me! Help me!” This Halloween, Nate helps Adam see his first Vincent Price movie, The Fly (1958), and its Simpsons parody in "Treehouse of Horror VIII" (S9E4).
Also in this episode:
How can one movie have such astounding special effects alongside such schlock?
What happens when a b-movie gets the budget to add a schmear of fanciness
Does this Simpsons episode really reference David Cronenberg’s remake of this movie, too?
Vincent Price’s recipe for dishwasher salmon
Next time, Nate and Adam enter the exotic world of TV movies with The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976) and its parody in “Little Girl in the Big Ten” (S13E20).
Every Simpsons Reference to The Fly
By our count, The Fly has been directly referenced 6 times in the first 13 seasons of The Simpsons. The first reference appears in “Duffless” (S4E16) from 1993, 35 years after the release of the movie.
Plot & Scene References
Duffless (S4E16) & Treehouse of Horror VIII (S9E4): This movie’s most iconic cheesy moment is parodied multiple times on The Simpsons. Much like the tragic hero of The Fly, when Lisa fantasizes about torturing her brother, she imagines him as a hamster with a Bart head trapped in a maze, squealing “help me!”
In the Treehouse of Horror segment “Fly vs. Fly,” Fly-Bart reenacts the hero’s fate being eaten by a spider more directly, but escapes at the last minute, slapping around his eight-eyed head like one of the Three Stooges.
Treehouse of Horror VIII (S9E4): The segment “Fly vs. Fly” is a front-to-back parody of the 1958 version of The Fly.
While the initial setup is slightly different, even the experiment on a family pet is taken from the film.
Most notably, the idea of the fly and the man simply swapping heads when they’re hybridized is much more like the 1958 film than David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake.
That said, the fog from the matter transporter seems to be taken from the 1986 poster, and Bart crawling on the ceiling feels more like a Brundlefly move.
Small References
Treehouse of Horror (S2E3) & A Star Is Burns (S6E18): A high-pitched voice, inspired by The Fly can be heard in two other episodes. In the very first Treehouse of Horror, a tiny voice can be heard when Homer turns on the bug zapper in the backyard.
When the Flanderses try to reenact Moses being laid among the reeds, Todd’s naturally high-pitched voice screams as he is carried away by the current. (Unconfirmed)
Treehouse of Horror X (S11E4): In the couch gag, several past Halloween costumes return, including Bartfly.
A Tale of Two Springfields (S12E2): When Professor Frink tries to use a familiar-looking teleporter to revive Isaac Newton, a power outage causes a monstrous mishap. Only Newton’s lower half makes it through, promptly kicking Frink’s ass. (Unconfirmed)
