Official Synopsis:
“Colonel Steve West has just returned from an incredible history-making flight to Saturn when he is hospitalized with an ailment that baffles the entire medical community. His flesh is melting and to stay alive he must consume human flesh and blood. The infected Colonel West escapes from the doctors’ supervision and hides in the surrounding community where he begins to hunt for human flesh. Who can stop the Incredible Melting Man?
Featuring “excellent makeup effects” (Leonard Maltin) from six-time Oscar winner Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London, Ed Wood, Men In Black) and written and directed by William Sachs (Galaxina, Exterminator 2) The Incredible Melting Man delivers the gelatinous goods while humanizing a character rapidly losing his humanity. In short: it’s bloody good!”
The Incredible Melting Man is a creature-feature that attempts to pay homage to the 1950’s classics, some of the old sci-fi/horror comics, and is influenced heavily by Night of the Living Dead. In reality, the film is about just as interesting as its source material: a blob of paint brought home from a spray paint factory.
The film has no discernible plot whatsoever. An astronaut, Steve West (Alex Rebar) is the only survivor of a trip to Saturn. A trip that takes about as long as a trip to the grocery store, a trip that is documented by stock images of solar flares. After his prognosis reads: RADIATION, Steve escapes the confines of the hospital to realize that his flesh is melting away. Two people who take on the task to catch him are Dr. Ted Nelson (Burr DeBenning) and General Michael Perry (Myron Healey). That is the extent of the information you get while watching this film. The remaining hour and twenty minutes are spent watching The Incredible Melting Man bumble about in the desert, reliving communication with his mission control, hearing continuous countdowns which only significance is to remind us he is an astronaut. He also kills people somehow, whether it is by his incredible melting-strength, or by oozing fleshy drippings over his victims, we don’t know.
The rest of the story drags on, with scenes extending an awkward length to reach a film length running time. What dialogue there is seems unscripted and poorly delivered. Throughout the special features of this disc, the writer/director William Sachs gives reasons as to why the quality of the film is lacking in almost every way, citing problems with the producers and an editor who almost ruined the film. “You’re not sitting down to watch Schindler’s List”, he assures us, who compares his intent of the film to be like a roller coaster or a comic book on film, who also says the moral of his story is “if you’re melting, don’t sit next to a garbage can”.
Rick Baker doesn’t hold back his opinions of the film and cast, either. By far the best thing about this film is the special effects. All the makeup and effects in this film are very good and well done. In fact, the majority of the screen time seems to just show off how good the effects are, letting the creature melt all over the place and lose appendages while not furthering the story in the least.
Video
The Incredible Melting Man is presenting in 1080p 1.78:1. The print is in surprisingly good condition, with a few minor defects noticed, but overall good quality. There are minor grain issues, especially in some of the night scenes. The stock footage looks horrible, but that cannot be helped.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. The quality sounds good, and you will hear a wide array of puzzling effects and a typical 70’s electronica score.
Special Features
The Special Features are definitely worth watching to get a clearer picture of what the writer/director was going for. In that aspect, you can almost appreciate his dedication and homage to some great classics that changed the genre.
Interview with Makeup Effects Artist Greg Cannom
Interview with Writer/Director William Sachs and Makeup Effects Artist Rick Baker
Audio Commentary by Writer/Director William Sachs
Theatrical Trailer
Photo Gallery
Radio Spot
Fans of The Incredible Melting Man aren’t going to find a better treatment of this creature-feature thanks to Shout! Factory. Although the film fails on many levels, the effects alone are worth checking out.
