The Incredible Melting Man (1977)

An astronaut is transformed into a murderous gelatinous mass after returning from an ill-fated space voyage.

Director:

William Sachs

Writer:

William Sachs

Stars:

Alex Rebar, Burr DeBenning, Myron Healey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alex Rebar	...	Steve West (The Incredible Melting Man)
Burr DeBenning	...	Dr. Ted Nelson
Myron Healey	...	General Michael Perry
Michael Alldredge	...	Sheriff Neil Blake
Ann Sweeny	...	Judy Nelson
Lisle Wilson	...	Dr. Loring
Cheryl Smith	...	The Model (as Rainbeaux Smith)
Julie Drazen	...	Carol
Stuart Edmond Rodgers	...	Little Boy
Chris Witney	...	Little Boy
Edwin Max	...	Harold
Dorothy Love	...	Helen
Janus Blythe	...	Nell Winters
Jonathan Demme	...	Matt Winters
Westbrook Claridge	...	Second Security Guard

Storyline

"You've never seen anything til you've seen the Sun through the rings of Saturn," exclaims Alex Rebar. Apparently, somehow this causes him to start melting and eating people, such as a nurse in the tightest fitting nurse's outfit ever, a nerdy fisherman, a horny old couple who simply can't keep their hands off each other in a car. To save the day comes Doctor Ted Nelson!

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Plot Keywords:

crashing through glass | melting face | astronaut | hospital | fisherman | 

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Taglines:

The first new horror creature

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Ghoul from Outer Space

Filming Locations:

San Fernando Valley Generating Station, San Fernando, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP),Dynamite Entertainment,Quartet

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reportedly makeup artist Rick Baker created a number of gruesome appliances that were never used in the film because star Alex Rebar refused to wear them.

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Goofs

While the Melting Man is creeping around, the sunlight changes between shots from late sundown to mid-afternoon, and then immediately to the middle of the night.

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Quotes

[it's lunch time at the Nelson home]
Dr. Ted Nelson: Steve escaped.
Judy Nelson: Oh God. What're you gonna do?
Dr. Ted Nelson: Uh... did you get some crackers? I told you yesterday that we needed some crackers.
Judy Nelson: Oh, I forgot. I knew there was something... Y'know there's uh, there's a pad right by the phone y'know, you could write it down too.
[she brings over his soup]
Judy Nelson: So what about Steve?
Dr. Ted Nelson: So, we don't have any crackers?
Judy Nelson: Ted. Steve?
Dr. Ted Nelson: Steve? I've got to go out and find Steve.

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Connections

Featured in The Incredible Melting Man with William Sachs and Rick Baker (2013)

User Reviews

Even The Title Simply Rulez

First off, anyone looking for meaningful "outcome oriented" cinema that packs some sort of social message with meaningful performances and soul searching dialog spoken by dedicated, emotive, heartfelt thespians, please leave now. You are wasting your time and life is short, go see the new Brangelina Jolie movie, have a good cry, go out & buy a hybrid car or throw away your conflict diamonds if that will make you feel better, and leave us alone.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out either. THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN is a grade B minus regional horror epic shot in the wastelands of Oklahoma by a young, TV friendly cast & crew, and concerns itself with an astronaut who is exposed to bizarre radiation effects, wakes up in a hospital, and finds that his body is liquefying on him as he sits there feeling like a chump. The melting man is played by one Alex Rebar, who is recognizable for about the first four minutes of the film. But once he starts oozin' with Rick Baker's extraordinary special effects makeup he more resembles something you might find in a tin of spam before you drain off all the runny, viscous blebs of grease.

The film has zero exposition and does not bandy about with plot points: There are a couple of scenes involving scientist types riding around on an absurd industrial conveyor machine who dutifully recite a few obligatory lines about the effects of radiation but the movie does not care, really. It's a freak show and a marvelous one at that with a decidedly sick sense of humor for those who can stomach it -- One great laugh comes when the melting man stumbles upon a young girl in the forest and is so at a loss for what to do that one of his eyes pops out. Hilarious.

The "hero" of the film is played by Burr DeBenning, a fascinating character actor from the golden 1970s & 80s television scene who was sort of an early model for the Kevin Spacey prototype; slightly twisted, neurotic, and one step ahead of most everyone in the room even if he looks confused. He appeared just after this movie was made in a bizarre made for TV anthology horror piece called HOUSE OF THE DEAD (or THE ALIEN ZONE) that is regarded as one of the finest movies ever made in Oklahoma, which is where I suspect this film was made as well. The arid, cold looking rural midwestern landscapes are certainly the same, and the creek that one unfortunate fly fisher chooses for his afternoon of sport appears to be the same one that Cameron Mitchell fought off flying alien pancakes in WITHOUT WARNING ... which also had a sick sense of humor, a TV friendly cast, and some pretty outrageous gore. I definitely sense at least an aesthetic connection between the three movies, as well as THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS which is of no surprise considering that director Jonathan Demme is a part of MELTING MAN's cast.

Essentially, as others have pointed out, this is a 1950s B movie plot updated for later 1970s era special effects & the inevitable boobs. The movie it probably borrows most of it's ideas from is PHANTOM FROM SPACE with Peter Graves as an astronaut who also returns to Earth after being exposed to funky radiation effects that set him off on a killing spree. One of the things that I actually admire about the film is that absolutely no regard is given for the melting man's motivations: He simply goes on a rampage and the movie's drama comes from wondering if he's going to fall to pieces before certain characters fall victim to his madness. The budget for the film is also delightfully low and every dime spent on it is up there on the screen, Rick Baker's disgusting effects getting the lion's share of whatever was spent on this.

Sick, disgusting fun best enjoyed with a crowd of friends and plenty of beer. Why can't people have made more movies like these?

8/10