Man-Thing

Title: Man-Thing
Director: Brett Leonard
Cast: Matthew Le Nevez, Rachel Taylor, Jack Thompson
Year: 2005
MPAA: Rated R for violence, grisly images, language and some sexuality
Date of Review: October 27, 2005

You don't have to be in the proverbial "loop" to know that the past few years have given us a plethora of comic book films. Marvel has had a monopoly on this recent trend, pumping out film after film of varying degrees of quality. It wasn't until this year's "Batman Begins" that DC entered the mix, and they did so with a huge wallop. However, many avid comic book readers have become a bit annoyed with Marvel, DC and the film companies, as they have only been focusing their efforts on the popular, commercially sellable super hero stories, when there are tons of comic books out there that are intelligent, witty, entertaining and generally fantastic without one cape or cowl. When Marvel revealed in 2004 that they would be giving cinematic life to their underground hit title "Man-Thing", fans rejoiced. But that happiness was quickly shattered when Lions Gate Films - the studio producing the movie - announced that the finished product was so mind-bendingly bad that they wouldn't be releasing it to theatres OR straight to video. Fans cried out, stating that they didn't care and they just wanted to see the movie. So finally, this past summer, Lions Gate Films released "Man-Thing" to DVD. Was it as bad as they said? Definitely not. But that's not saying it's anything particularly good, either.

The film is loosely based on a comic book series of the same name, which takes place in the swamp lands of the deep south, where a monster exists with the sole purpose of protecting "The Nexus" - a mystical realm of spirits and magic. The Man-Thing has control over the swamplands, and also possesses a power in which it literally feeds off the fear of living beings just by touching them, which leaves large burns all over their body. While the comic book series never really took off at a commercial level, it has a loyal fanbase and has had some fantastic writers over the years.

One place where the movie went wrong was in the transfer of the story from page to screen. While the film tries to retain some of the mysticism of the books by including a subplot about the Man-Thing being an old Native American legend, it is really nothing more than a stylized slasher horror film just like any other run-of-the-mill teen horror flick. But even this could be fixed with some fine tweaking. However, where this one sets itself apart is that the script is actually quite good (at least it is something that could be worked with), and the Man-Thing itself is impressive given the incredibly low budget of the film. It is, quite simply, the actors that ruin the entire movie.

Directed by Brett Leonard (mistake numero uno) of "The Lawnmower Man" fame, "Man-Thing" stars a cast of Australian actors playing characters from the Southern United States. This was done due to budget constraints, that forced the film to relocate from New Orleans to Australia. None of the actors are able to pull off the accent, but they all try to, and manage to butcher most of the script with their terrible voice-work.

Matthew Le Nevez plays Kyle Williams, the new sheriff in Bywater, a town which rests on the edge of a mysterious swamp where several people have gone missing or been found dead. The bodies that are found have been severely decomposed and are filled with moss, branches and other gross swampy stuff, even though they have only been dead for a few hours. The investigations point towards an elusive man named Laroque, who is known as a trouble maker in town, especially after a greedy oil tycoon comes and begins building rigs throughout the swamp. This awakens the Man-Thing, which begins killing anyone and everyone that enters the swamp, in an effort to avenge the damage that has been done to the land.

The film is quite obviously Brett Leonard's as he is still employing the same Tron-like effects that he has been using since "The Lawnmower Man" in the early 1990s. Luckily, these terrible effects are kept to a minimum, and the bulk of the Man-Thing itself is done with costume, makeup and animatronic effects. The monster is actually very impressive, and the effect of it literally being camouflaged in the forest, then suddenly moving is reminiscent of Ridley Scott's "Alien", in which the same effect is used for the alien monster to blend in with the cold, dark steel of the spaceship.

Again, the script is hardly the problem with this low-budget comic book film. It's the execution - mostly on the part of the actors - that drags it way down. The film has a distinct visual style, especially in the swamp scenes, which gives it a very eerie feel. The swamp is constantly lit with various shades of green, and there is almost always a thick layer of fog in which this light is given room to bounce and reflect, enhancing the mood of the scenes. But the occasionally impressive visuals just aren't enough to save the film from complete mediocrity.

While "Man-Thing" is not nearly the atrocity that Lions Gate made it out to be before it was released, it's understandable that the film only got a straight to video release. The movie's handful of redeeming features are not enough to overshadow the horrendous acting and amateur directing. But for fans of the series or fans of monster movies, it may be worthwhile to give it a rental.

5/10