Body Melt is basically what it appears to be; just a big pile of gore. Australia isn't a nation instantly recognised for a lot of hit horror films (despite one or two successes), and this one really shows why - as aside from all the blood and guts, there is nothing at all to recommend it for; and anyone that doesn't watch horror films purely for gore won't even have that small pittance to fall back on. Body Melt is a more modern example of the 'melt movie' - a worthless type of film kicked off by the worthless James Muro flick 'Street Trash' towards the end of the eighties. I can't say I've seen too many of these sorts of movies, and this one isn't even as good as the earlier eighties film. The plot is similar to Street Trash, as it follows the unoriginal idea (also seen in Larry Cohen's "The Stuff") of a new product disrupting people's bodily functions. The product in this film comes from a health farm and is known as 'Verbatim'. The film starts with a sequence that sees a horribly mutilated man crash his car after his body begins to melt. After that, we see other people melting...
The film only runs for about seventy five minutes (not including closing credits), and the vast majority of that is filler. It would seem that every time director Philip Brophy doesn't know where to go, another person melts. It didn't come as a surprise to me, therefore, that the film is based on a series of short stories - as that's exactly what it feels like. The gore actually isn't bad, as despite being cheap it does have a cheerful feel to it; and the film goes further than most would dare, as offending body parts include penises, placentas and over-sized tongues developing a mind of their own. The way that they are used doesn't inspire the imagination, however, and that is a shame as this film could actually have been quite scary if done correctly. The only recognisable person in the cast is Ian Smith, who many will immediately identify as 'Harold' from the Aussie soap 'Neighbours'. It's not surprising that there's no other 'names' as this production is unprofessional and lacklustre, and if I were an actor with a good reputation; I wouldn't have gone anywhere near it. This film might delight fans of mindless gore; but most of us are better off elsewhere.
The film only runs for about seventy five minutes (not including closing credits), and the vast majority of that is filler. It would seem that every time director Philip Brophy doesn't know where to go, another person melts. It didn't come as a surprise to me, therefore, that the film is based on a series of short stories - as that's exactly what it feels like. The gore actually isn't bad, as despite being cheap it does have a cheerful feel to it; and the film goes further than most would dare, as offending body parts include penises, placentas and over-sized tongues developing a mind of their own. The way that they are used doesn't inspire the imagination, however, and that is a shame as this film could actually have been quite scary if done correctly. The only recognisable person in the cast is Ian Smith, who many will immediately identify as 'Harold' from the Aussie soap 'Neighbours'. It's not surprising that there's no other 'names' as this production is unprofessional and lacklustre, and if I were an actor with a good reputation; I wouldn't have gone anywhere near it. This film might delight fans of mindless gore; but most of us are better off elsewhere.
