Body Melt

Body Melt Directed By Philip Brophy. Starring Vince Gil (1993)

   I noticed something last week about Theaterofguts, there is a serious neglect in the Australian film genre department (or Ozploitation) and I thought I would correct that with the gore soaked cataclysmic suburban health nut epic known as Body Melt.
  There are tons of face explosions, body contortions, ruptured human organ balloons that are tailor made for classic 80’s and 90’s Fangoria (or Deep Red) splatter centerfolds! There’s also some social commentary on the corrupt health industry. The health clinic is responsible for causing spontaneous combustion as a result of a new drug fad that’s sweeping the planned communities of Melbourne, Australia. Bob McCarron handles the jarring living Garbage Pail Kid style effects and does an amazing job! The actors pretty much get eclipsed by the effects.

  The concept of early Cronenberg, bodily rejection is taken to similar extremes with a heaping slop bucket of gruel sluicing around the bright countryside and effecting all those who were injected with the Re-Animator like Vitamin serum called Vim-U-Ville. So yes there are a lot of good influences present in Body Melt.

   I of course have some complaints, as an amateur Gene Shalit I have to, right? it’s in my invisible contract with myself! So what are they?

           

I'll just pour this down my throat, should be fine

   We meet the first victim in a blue lit sauna while a sexy oiled naked woman injects him and he blisters up like a roided out freak then hits the road. This may be a secret remedy for road rage or steroid attacks only known to Australians, but this guy immediately pulls over at a convenient store and drinks dish washing liquid and even pours some down his spurting neckhole!
   The awful music and fashions are instantly dated, Brophy handles the irritating Techno soundtrack and everyone is dressed like Vanilla Ice or Poochi from The Simpsons, but thankfully none of this effects the film at all, it just seals it in a time capsule.There's a computer that monitors the action going on in the suburbs that has an early 90's robotic computer voice similar to the one on the Idiot Box and there's Liquid Television style graphics.

   Ok, so the story line is basically a new dietary supplement is causing the fitness conscious citizens of Homesville to implode and die violently, while two doctors are shadily involved and aware of what’s going on. One lives a normal guilt ridden life and the other lives on a farm with his mutated family. Two Italian punks (one named Gino Argento, Ha!) are hard up to find women, I mean these dudes are so horny they would drive to the middle of nowhere just to hang out with an obviously mentally handicapped radiation infected pair of siblings (the mutated Doctor's kids). They waste their time out in the sticks just for the chance that there may be a Playboy-esque farmer’s daughter hiding behind a barn! A girl finally shows up with the same features as Rob Z’Dar! Does this persuade our Australian/Italian friends to race to their car and escape? Nope, it only entices one of them to commit the act they came so far to get. I’d say this is a slam on Australians or Italians, but I’m not sure? The sets are somewhere in the middle of Pee Wees Playhouse and a funny farm and there are lots of great thrift store paintings and dolls. The retarded twins crack open a dead kangaroo and feast on its nuggets! (available el fresco or at Ozzie McDonalds)!

is the thriftstore doll responsible?

   I wonder if this is the directors intent to force the audience to scream at their TV’s “Get the fuck out of there”!!!! Because alot of them overstay their welcome! Other characters who seem to know they are in harms way, don’t respond and its sort of nerve wracking! There are some gruesome sex antics as well, one is what I’d refer to as a “Rib bone Job” and another happens when a musclehead gets a boner that explodes and splatters on the TV screen!! Ouch!

The McRib is back sooner than expected!

    Body Melt seems to hate suburban families (I mean who doesn’t, speaking as someone who grew up in one)! All kinds of families, children, bodybuilders all explode and die, no survivors are left for Body Melt 2: The Four Phase is explosive Diarrhea! I should mention that there are three phases of bodily carnage in this flick, one is hallucinogenic, then glandular, then Urrrpppppp!
   This film is included in TOG’S effort to mention Fandor! which is where I got to see this! Or my shameless way of promoting their site, which is pretty amazing for the volume of cult films available, films that Netflix are afraid to stream! Body Melt is very unique and just like Street Trash it’s a fun spectacle where the storyline is pretty basic and even though the characters do randomly questionable things, it’s still highly recommended! Free trial on Fandor required to watch the film.

Spaghetti boogers

I frenched Gene Simmons and we both lost

WATCH HERE