The Flew was named one of the 50 best Midnight Movies of the last decade in issue #14 of underground film mag, Cashiers du Cinemart! Since then copies of The Flew have found loving homes in far away lands like Australia, Sweden and Canada.

"People who enjoy fever dreams and David Lynch’s ERASERHEAD are most likely to enjoy THE FLEW (count me among them), but otherwise, it’s understandable if this film clears the room. I don’t know how he did it, but this film was shot entirely by filmmaker Clifton Childree over a period of six years. That may not sound like a big deal but considering he was a one-man crew as well as the sole star on the film, it’s an impressive feat.

The film takes place at a Victorian carnival where a beekeeper strives to live a life outside of his monotonous existence within The Flew, an elaborate shooting gallery. The only thing he knows outside of The Flew is The Wooden Embalmer, a broken down ride he has strong affections for. Not only has he started to feel human emotions, but he has also begun experiencing human health issues as well, which is not a good thing for a mechanical man who is beginning to fall apart just as he begins to find himself. Sensing tha his days are numbered, he retreats to his dreamy hallucinations until it is hard to tell the difference between dream and reality.

The subject matter sounds deep, and it’s treatment within the film might leave some viewers wondering if the film, like ERASERHEAD, has any actual meaning or if the whole thing is just one long experiment in self indulgence on the filmmaker’s part. Films like this tend to find followings among drug users or extreme cultural intellectuals. With its grainy, black & white imagery and period set-design, THE FLEW looks like something you’d watch in a Nickelodeon. Childree utilizes a relentless barrage of organ music and carnival sound effects, a minimal cast (himself and occasional extras), and no dialogue. The overall effect has a hypnotic quality to it that leaves the viewer a little creeped out, a feeling which lasts long after the film has finished."

-Mike White, Cashieres du Cinemart #14
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