Incredible Melting Man Movie Review

Two transformations change an astronaut's life after his return to Earth. First, his skin starts to melt, then he displays cannibalistic tendencies. Hard to swallow. An intended tribute to ‘50s sci-fi shockers like First Man into Space and The Amazing Colossal Man, this one misses a prime opportunity for some campy, over-the-top gory fun by instead sticking to a dull plot, with most of the running time devoted to the messy monster Rebar plodding around the desert, while the rest of the cast searches for him. Some decent yucky special effects makeup by future Oscar winner Rick Baker. Look for director Jonathan Demme in a bit part. Cheryl Smith (who used the name “Rainbeaux” mostly in porn films) went from this to the only-slightly better Laserblast. William Sachs went on to direct Galaxina, which at least had a sense of fun.

1977 (R) 85m/C Alex Rebar, Burr de Benning, Cheryl “Rainbeaux” Smith, Myron Healey, Michael Aldredge, Ann Sweeney, Lisle Wilson; Cameos: Jonathan Demme; D: William Sachs; W: William Sachs. VHS, Beta LIV, VES