Gruesome Galleries: 1977’s THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN

SHOCK splats out 9 shots from the 1977 gore classic THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN.

Before the word splatter was officially part of the cinematic lexicon, writer/director William Sachs’ trashy galactic gore gem THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN was defying audiences not to lose their collective lunches.

In it, an astronaut (Alex Rebar) returns from a mission to Saturn with a bad case of flesh putrescence, literally falling apart as his skin bubbles, liquefies and drips in great slimy globs from his rickety bones.

As he stumbles around the countryside in a protracted state of delirium, it seems the only thing that can slow his rapid disintegration is to manhandle and consume living human flesh, which he does with great, gruesome vigor.

Thanks to outrageously repulsive early-career prosthetic make-up FX by the legendary, decorated-to-death and now, sadly retired Rick Baker, the film has attained a well-deserved cult following and makes one forgive the utter idiocy of the dialogue, narrative and the pitiful performances.

Of course, director William Sachs claims all of the film’s shortcoming were intentional, a deliberate throwback to 1950’s creature feature cheese but the archness of the production makes it feel more like some sort of  weirdo, perverted 70s TV-movie.

But with barrels of vile gore.

This is, by my estimation, a good thing.

With its screen filling depictions of slimy, molting, space-tainted tissues endlessly oozing from bones,  it’s one of the rare genre films that more than lives up to its title.

SHOCK splats out 9 awesome images from THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN. And almost 40 years later…they’re still pretty repellent!