Man-Thing (2005)

Agents of an oil tycoon vanish while exploring a swamp marked for drilling. The local sheriff investigates and faces a Seminole legend come to life: Man-Thing, a shambling swamp-monster whose touch burns those who feel fear.

Director:

Brett Leonard

Writers:

Steve Gerber (character), Hans Rodionoff

Stars:

Jack Thompson, Matthew Le Nevez, Steve Bastoni

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Le Nevez	...	Kyle
Rachael Taylor	...	Teri
Jack Thompson	...	Schist
Rawiri Paratene	...	Pete Horn
Alex O'Loughlin	...	Fraser (as Alex O'Lachlan)
Steve Bastoni	...	Rene
Robert Mammone	...	Mike Ploog
Patrick Thompson	...	Jake (as Pat Thompson)
William Zappa	...	Gerber
John Batchelor	...	Wayne Thibadeaux
Ian Bliss	...	Rodney Thibadeaux
Brett Leonard	...	Val Mayerick
Imogen Bailey	...	Sarah
James Coyne	...	Billy
Cheryl Craig	...	Michele

Storyline

When a greedy oil baron sets his sights on drilling in a Louisiana swamp, a monstrous creature is awakened. The baron and his associates are killed in the swamp thicket, spurring an investigation led by Sheriff Kyle Williams. Although the Seminoles are initially suspected of the murders, the swamp creature, known as Man-Thing, is the killer. A gruesome creature made of plants and vines, Man-Thing possesses strange and dangerous powers.

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Plot Keywords:

swamp monster | based on comic book | marvel comics | man thing character | character name as title | 

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Taglines:

Your fear is his deadliest weapon

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, grisly images, language and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Marvel

Country:

USA Germany Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 2005 (Singapore)

Also Known As:

Man Thing

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,123,136

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Artisan Entertainment, Marvel Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min (DVD) 96 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The characters of Steve Gerber (William Zappa) and Mike Ploog (Robert Mammone) are references to the comic creators by the same names. While they didn't create the Man-Thing, they worked together on the first ongoing series of the comic book character and developed it further (e.g. establishing the "Nexus of All Realities"). Steve Gerber is also known as the creator of "Howard the Duck" and Mike Ploog is famous for his work on Marvel Comics' adaptations of "Planet of the Apes" and "Monster of Frankenstein" and most recently for his work on "Abadazad" (CrossGen Comics) and "Stardust Kid" (Image Comics) with writer J.M. DeMatteis.

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Quotes

Frederic Schist: Your friend, Ted Sallis, before he died, before I buried him here under this rig, you know what he said?
Rene LaRoque: Fuck you!

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Connections

Referenced in Vedro: Family Tree (2017)

User Reviews

One of the better Sci-fi channel originals I've seen...

Something evil is living in a swamp, something that kills all that enter its territory, the "dark waters". As more people are killed, the local town sheriff learns that a swamp-monster of Indian legend is responsible. Can he stop the creature before it can continue killing? "Man-Thing" has gotten primarily bad reviews here on IMDb, but I thought it was…not terrible. Not great either, loaded with clichés, yes, but I've seen much worse films released courtesy of the Sci-fi channel. Any of you ever seen of "Boa Vs. Python"?!?!? There's plenty of stuff to like here. The swamp photography is beautiful. The shades of greens gave the film a very nice look, and the swamp is setting is effectively creepy. Director Brett Leonard—who you may remember as the guy behind 1992's "Lawn Mower Man"—gives the film good atmosphere, and there were even a couple of creepy moments towards the finale. The monster was scary and looked very, very impressive, to say the least. There was some pretty weak CG used for its tentacles among other things but thankfully the creature itself is a good old-fashioned man-in-a-suit creation, and a darn good one at that. Kudos to the effects team on this memorable, nasty-looking beast. Oh, there's the abundant gore too, which is certainly a plus. I won't give away what happens in the film, but I will say gore fans will be very happy. I also liked Roger Mason's creepy, atmospheric score.

Problems begin with two things: The script and the actors. The screenplay offers lots of typical horror conventions: Throwaway monster victims, cheap pop scares, greedy and unrealistic bad guys, wise Indians who know about the monster, and so on. If you know the genre, you're probably familiar with this set-up by now, and it can be very tiring. The actors are mostly weak (Save for lead actor Matthew Le Nevez who wasn't bad), and those "southern" accents sure sound Australian if you ask me!

"Man Thing" is flawed and offers a familiar set-up, but if you can overlook that you'll be treated to a gory, creepy monster movie. Better than most made-for-TV horror films I've seen, and I've seen a lot.

6/10.