The space mission in the orbit of Saturn did not go well and the only survivor, Steve West, was exposed to cosmic radiation with dramatic consequences. The man, in fact, underwent a molecular mutation that is literally making him melt; the only way to preserve his physical integrity as much as possible is to feed on human flesh. Once escaped from the hospital where he was admitted, West takes refuge in the woods in search of prey.
The original title of this film – The Incredible Melting Man – is explicit about the type of operation we are dealing with: a declared B-movie fanta-horror that aims primarily to evoke a certain type of 1950s science fiction cinema. Let's say that director and screenwriter William Sachs ("Spooky House") hit the target only 50%, undoubtedly capturing some accurate nostalgic finds and mixing them with the 1970s horror new wave, but also falling into some avoidable banalities that make "The Wax Man" definitely "dated" if seen with the eyes of a modern viewer, though perfectly literate in period visions.
Sachs wanted to pay homage to the science fiction genre typical of the mid-last century, especially that contaminated with horror atmospheres that enjoyed a certain public success and is today revered as a cult object, in particular a sure thematic connection can be noted with two films of a certain importance such as "Quatermass and the Pit" and "The First Man into Space". Sachs knows the genre and manages to create a certain dose of old-school sci-fi suggestion of sure appeal to the drive-in audience; the references, however, are limited to the narrative framework to then focus the development of the story entirely on the double man hunt conducted by the monster in search of flesh to feed on and by the authorities in search of the monster. At this point, the dark atmosphere and the abundant use of gore and gruesome scenes make the work shift towards more explicit horror, creating a curious and fascinating hybrid of dual soul: suggestions from classic fanta-horror and semiotics dear to the renewed "bloody" horror of the 1970s. Even the direction does not exclude some interesting camera movements (especially the "journey" along the watercourse of the severed head) that show how Sachs had talent beyond the mediocre films that make up his curriculum.
Against this work, there is a series of small details that testify to the little attention paid to the writing of the screenplay, which falls into gross errors (why make a mission on a gaseous planet?) or in worrying laissez-faire that presuppose a certain propensity of the viewer to the suspension of disbelief: in practice, everything is glossed over a bit, starting with why West needs human flesh precisely to survive.
Despite the film not reaching 90 minutes, there is a risk of getting bored due to an excessive redundancy of events that make the narration not fluid.
The one-dimensional characters, completely overshadowed by the physical presence of the wax man, an Alex Rebar ("Amityville Horror – The Devil's Escape") made unrecognizable by the effective makeup of Rick Baker, here in one of his first creations, do not help. The very low budget with which the film was made does not help, making it aesthetically very, perhaps too, raw.
The sympathetic and successful reference to "Frankenstein" sees a little girl and her close encounter with the wax man.
An ingenuous film, therefore, and surely not entirely successful, especially due to a superficial screenplay and a very evident poverty of substance. "The Wax Man" remains a dated but nevertheless fascinating work, especially for vintage enthusiasts, in addition to being one of the first horrors of the "melting" mini-genre.
It deserves half a pumpkin more.
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