There aren’t too many reasons to pick up a copy of the made-to-order DVD of The Incredible Melting Man, a sci-fi and horror b-movie made in 1977, but there are two. If you’re in dire need of a little picture to help you celebrate cinematic schlock or if you’re an admirer of the great makeup effects artist Rick Baker, the man whose work on An American Werewolf in London only four years later would forever raise the ante on horror film makeup and special effects. Of those two reasons to seek out The Incredible Melting Man the latter easily wins out, and after only ten minutes in you can see why: though basic and somewhat stagnant, Baker’s work is the film’s only saving grace amid some writing and acting that’s so bad it’s almost good and a story with barely enough content to fill out an episode of The Twilight Zone.
Imagine if instead of cosmic rays giving the Fantastic Four their well-known superpowers it had instead left all but one of them dead with their skin slowly melting, their strength increasing, and their hunger for living human tissue the sole driving force in their mind. Upon returning to earth, the affliction takes hold and former astronaut Steve (Alex Rebar) escapes the hospital and wanders off into the world leaving Dr. Nelson (Burr DeBenning) to track him down in the hopes that he can figure out what’s happening. Sadly, madness quickly takes hold of Steve’s mind and it becomes a race against time to see if Dr. Nelson can bring Steve in before he kills innocent people.
The script introduces many victims and some of them receive gruesome deaths, but for the most part the film has far too much build up with pay offs that never really satisfy (save for the fate of a fisherman and his head). The only bright spot to be found in this mess is Rick Baker’s makeup work as he slowly breaks down Steve’s grisly visage. At the end we’re treated to a great final decomposition that makes the whole experience slightly worthwhile if you’re a horror makeup effects fan, otherwise you’ll probably be better off watching the other movie from 1977 that Rick Baker worked on: Star Wars.
DVD Bonus Features
There are none.
"The Incredible Melting Man" is on sale August 23, 2011 and is rated R. Written and directed by William Sachs. Starring Burr Debenning, Alex Rebar, Myron Healey.
