The Incredible Melting Man

Quite why anyone should see fit to re-release, let alone restore, a movie like The Incredible Melting Man quite frankly beggars belief!

Hailed as one of those 70’s cult classics that never quite justify a ‘cult status’, The Incredible Melting Man is a poor excuse for a laughable SciFi horror comedy that neither scares nor amuses…

Spacecraft Scorpio V returns to Earth after a mission to Saturn, but all’s not well: two crew members are dead, and the third astronaut, Steve West (Alex Rebar), is in critical condition and infected with some radioactive outer-space virus that not only turns him into a cannibal but gradually makes his flesh melt and sludge from his bones. You heard me!

Hospitalised, Steve manages to escape into the countryside, but not before feasting on tasty chunks that he bites off an unfortunate nurse who happens to be in the wrong ward at the wrong time. Hot on his heels (but never quite on time to save several poor hapless folks) is former friend and colleague, NASA researcher Dr. Nelson (Burr DeBenning), who at first tries to make the local police believe that he isn’t quite sure what he’s after – obviously, Nelson tries to avoid panic. However, as the body count rises and some members of the military as well as Nelson fail to capture the increasingly melting West, Nelson finally confides in the police chief. However, before the ‘seriousness’ of the situation fully sinks in, some locals fall prey to West and his appetite (he needs to munch on FRESH human cells in order to ease his physical agony). A couple of lovey-dovey old pensioners out to steal lemons for lemonade and a topless bimbo are amongst the unlucky ones, while a fisherman loses his head.

It has to be said that all the goo and gore (courtesy of Special Effects wizard Rick Baker – An American Werewolf In London / Michael Jackson’s Thriller) is a feat on the eyes, well, for those who can stomach it. It’s well done, and our melting man who loses an ear here and an eyeball there before utterly melting into oblivion, with his few remains ending up getting chucked into a bin by an unsuspecting janitor, is a walking and melting wonder in special effects make-up artistry. That said, not that much happens until the climax (or should that be anti-climax) except an ever- increasing amount of melting flesh and slushing body parts littering the countryside in between some killings. Yikes, some films had better melt into oblivion!

Special Features on this Blu-ray release are:

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature

· Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)

· Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

· Audio Commentary with William Sachs

· Super 8 digest version of the film

· Interview with Writer/Director William Sachs and Make-up Effects Artist Rick Baker

· Interview with Make-up Effects Artist Greg Cannom

· Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin

· Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film