| Body Melt (1993) |
| Directed by Philip Brophy. Starring Gerard Kennedy, Andrew Daddo, Ian Smith, Regina Gaigalas , Brett Climo, Willam McInnes, and Lisa McCune. |
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| Body Melt is an Australian horror film set in the fictitious suburb of Homesville , a housing project on the outskirts of Melbourne. The residents of Pebbles court are unwitting guinea pigs for the Vimuville chemical company. Vimuville is an experimental vitamins laboritory, and they've been giving the delighted residents of pebbles court free samples of all their latest un-tested health products. |
| One of the scientists at the lab is concerned about the unethical experiments |
| going on in Homesville, and sets out to warn the residents. His superior is on to him however, and juices him up with enough chemicals to kill a rhino. He almost makes it to Homesville when the side effects start to set in. He pulls up at a service station , grabs a bottle of detergent, and starts drinking it ( apparently detergent either helps to stop the side effects, or he thought his throat was dirty). The attendant calls the cops when he leaves, and a high speed, Mad Max inspired car chase ensues. |
| As he's racing along the quiet streets of Homesville, the scientist begins dictating the side effects of the Vimuville vitamins. He then crashes into a van in Pebbles court. After this, more and more strange things start happening in the street. A guy named Paul develops a real taste for Vimuvilles vitamin supplement drink , and it causes him to keep seeing a woman who looks like she's been bashed around the face with a frypan one time too many. Other residents also suffer from hallucinations , many of which lead to vomit, slime, and gore soaked situations. |
| One of my favorite scenes in this may not be as visceral as the rest of the film, but was a very memorable subplot. A couple of Italian boys from Pebble court smash their windscreen while driving in the country, and happen along a windscreen repair place run by the guy who played The Nightrider in Mad Max ( he has a huge growth on the side of his face, and still chants rock'n'roll lyrics) , and his inbred family. In one scene, the family indulge in their favorite pastime.....killing kangaroos, and eating their adrenal glands. This gives the family the ultimate natural high, and sends them totally crazy. The Nightriders daughter has one of the ugliest prosthetic makeup appliances I've seen ( at least I hope it's makeup). In fact , the makeup is pretty impressive all-round in this film, and for the most part extremely convincing. It has some pretty way out scenes.... I can't think of many movies where a man gets attacked by a placenta, or where a guys dick actually explodes ! Body Melt really gives Peter Jackson (his Braindead crew did the fx) , and Sam Raimi a run for their money in terms of frenetic energy, and out and out gore, and has a little more than just a slice of David Cronenberg thrown into the mix. It's a comment on modern societies hectic pace, and obsession with vitamin supplements ( the Vimuville products reminded me a lot of caffiene and guarana laced energy drinks). I think that it's basically saying that modern life is eating us alive. Whatever the message was that Philip Brophy was driving at , this is a wild crazy ride, and really succeeded in setting an effective horror movie in an average Australian suburb. |
| Entertainment : 3 out of 4 |
| Watchability : 4 out of 4 |
| Overall : 3.5 out of 4 |
| Reviewed by Blake. |