MOVIES and MANIA score:
‘A brand new peak in horror’
The Unbelievable Melting Man is a 1977 science fiction horror movie about an astronaut whose physique begins to soften after he’s uncovered to radiation throughout an area flight to Saturn, driving him to commit murders and eat human flesh to outlive.
Financed by former Amicus associate Max J. Rosenberg (Tales from the Crypt), and written and directed by William Sachs, the film stars Alex Rebar (screenwriter of Demented) as Steve West, the protagonist of the title, alongside Burr DeBenning as a scientist attempting to assist him, and Myron Healey as a United States Air Power common looking for to seize him.
The movie – which was apparently initially meant as a parody – contains a number of homages to science fiction and horror movies of the Fifties, particularly First Man into House. Make-up artist Rick Baker offered the memorably gory and gloopy visible results for the movie, assisted by Greg Cannom and Rob Bottin.
Purchase Blu-ray + DVD: Amazon.co.uk
Excessive Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Normal Definition DVD presentation of the function, transferred from unique movie parts
Authentic Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
Non-obligatory English subtitles for the deaf and exhausting of listening to
Audio Commentary with William Sachs
Tremendous 8 digest model of the movie
Interview with Author/Director William Sachs and Make-up Results Artist Rick Baker
Interview with Make-up Results Artist Greg Cannom
Reversible sleeve that includes unique and newly commissioned paintings by Gary Pullin
Collector’s booklet that includes essays on the historical past of the movie by Mike White and a short historical past of Tremendous 8 by Douglas Weir
Our assessment:
“Magnificent! You’ve by no means seen something until you’ve seen the Solar by means of the rings of Saturn” declares the magnificently wood Alex Rebar on the opening of The Unbelievable Melting Man, and equally, you’ve by no means seen something till you sit down to observe this movie – although solely probably the most fanatical trash cinema fan may declare it to be “magnificent.”
There’s no denying the ridiculous leisure worth of this gloriously dreadful movie, nonetheless, because it mixes a Fifties B-movie plot with spectacular dangerous style to create probably the most ludicrous and – if you’re in the appropriate temper – entertaining movies of the period.
I first noticed The Unbelievable Melting Man within the early Eighties, when it turned up as a help function for – of all issues – Each Which Method However Free. After all, an viewers wanting ahead to Clint Eastwood’s good ol’ boy capers with a comedy Orangutan was scarcely ready for a movie through which the lead character slowly melts, eats folks and will get his arm chopped off and has a memorable lengthy shot of a severed head floating down a stream, tumbling over a waterfall and bursting open on the rocks under. It induced fairly a stir.
How this movie managed to cross by means of the BBFC with an ‘AA’ certificates – virtually equal to ’15’ now – in 1977, when gory scenes have been nonetheless being minimize from ‘X’ rated motion pictures, is anybody’s guess [NB. Later VHS releases were rated ’18’ in a sign of darker times]. For this teenager, the movie was every thing I’d hoped it could be when seeing trailers on TV and gloopy stills in horror mags.
The story is fairly easy. Steve West (Rebar) is an astronaut who has one thing dangerous occur to him on a Saturn mission. Again on Earth (which appears to take no time in any respect), he awakens in hospital to search out himself coated in bandages and strapped to a mattress. Naturally unguarded (as a result of why would you retain an astronaut whose situation is a nationwide safety high secret in a safe unit), he removes the bandages to disclose a face and arms which can be starting to soften. Naturally, this discovery forces him to chase a fats nurse by means of the empty hospital after which eat her.
Mission director Ted Nelson (Burr DeBenning) and Normal Perry (Myron Healey) got down to observe Steve down, which principally entails Nelson wandering by means of the woods holding a geiger counter. Steve, in the meantime, is on a rampage, ripping aside a fisherman ( cue the aforementioned head scene), scary youngsters and leaving corpses to be discovered by a younger mannequin and a lecherous photographer (who’re right here merely to get some naked breasts into the story – on condition that the breasts belong to cult icon Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith (Parasite; Lemora: A Little one’s Story of the Supernatural), I doubt anybody is complaining).
As Steve decays, he appears to get stronger and extra deranged. There’s the suggestion that consuming folks may gradual the melting down, although how the beleaguered astronaut would know that’s anybody’s guess. In any case, he appears to spend most of his time lurking round homes to no apparent motive, attacking a younger couple (performed by movie director Jonathan Demme and The Hills Have Eyes star Janus Blythe) earlier than making his option to an influence station for a closing showdown with Nelson and the set off pleased cops.
The movie is one among a handful of late Seventies motion pictures that primarily channel Fifties science fiction (it could make an awesome double-bill with the equally retro-styled The Large Spider Invasion), and the story right here appears clearly impressed by The First Man into House and The Quatermass Xperiment, each of which featured astronauts who return to Earth contaminated with one thing that slowly causes them to decay, shedding their minds and their humanity within the course of. It’s a traditional science fiction idea, and one that may be given a sure emotional and mental clout, however after all right here all that’s swept apart in favour of gore and mayhem.
Whereas the precise violence ranges within the movie should not that prime, the graphic nature of the movie is fairly outstanding. It’s not simply the frequently melting Rebar that can check the stamina of extra delicate viewers, although the pictures of him dripping away, an eyeball falling out and ultimately melting down fully can be sufficient to place many individuals off their dinners; it’s additionally the burst open head (filmed in loving gradual movement!), the half-eaten nurse, the severed limbs and the final gore quota that also manages to be stunning. These scenes are additionally the perfect factor concerning the film. Created by Rick Baker, the melting man and the gore are of a top quality that the remainder of the film doesn’t even come near. Baker’s work is the true star right here (definitely extra so than Rebar, who solely will get the one scene with out the make-up and delivers his single line of dialogue terribly).
Watching it once more now, I can respect different issues within the film. It’s, after all, horrible by any typical requirements. However then, how can we really choose a movie that calls itself The Unbelievable Melting Man? That is the form of movie that’s virtually critic-proof, as a result of it’s inherently, shamelessly trashy. The one factor that actually issues is that this – does it entertain? And I’d say that the reply is a particular ‘sure’. It’s a movie that delivers every thing you need from this form of factor – a gentle provide of gore, gratuitous nudity, ripe dialogue and as few pauses for characterisation as it will probably get away with.
The remainder of the movie is pure Fifties although, and it’s simple to see that director William Sachs in all probability was attempting to shoot a comic book e-book type pastiche – in line with him, the producers didn’t desire a comedy horror and made him shoot extra ‘straight’ horror scenes. The movie is definitely nonetheless fairly humorous if you’re conversant in Fifties science fiction, although how a lot of the comedy is deliberate is difficult to inform.
DeBenning is stiff as a board enjoying the stereotypical scientist, and a lot of the supporting characters are fairly one-dimensional and, sure, cartoon-like. This could often be a nasty factor in a film, however right here, it’s relatively acceptable. Good performances of well-rounded characters spouting non-risible dialogue would in all probability be the demise of this film.
Ultimately, The Unbelievable Melting Man is precisely what you count on it to be. If you happen to decide up a movie with this title wanting one thing apart from what you get, then extra idiot you, frankly. However if you’re a lover of no-nonsense drive-in insanity or just desire a occasion film with boobs and gore and no advanced plot to get caught up in, then that is for you.
David Flint, MOVIES and MANIA
Purchase Blu-ray from Amazon.com
For YouTube content material and extra film data, please go to web page 2
MOVIES and MANIA offers previews of recent movies, our personal film evaluations/scores, and hyperlinks to different evaluations from reliable really helpful sources – multi functional useful net location. Plus, hyperlinks to legitimately watch 1000s OF MOVIES FREE ONLINE by way of platforms comparable to Amazon Prime, Plex, Roku, Tubi and on YouTube. As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn a really tiny quantity from any qualifying purchases.
Customer score! What do you consider this film? Click on on a star to charge it
