Body Melt
Encyclopedia
Body Melt is a satirical
Australian horror film
directed by Philip Brophy
and written by Brophy and Rod Bishop (both ex-→ ↑ →
), influenced by "splatstick" Peter Jackson
films like Bad Taste
and Braindead
.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
Australian horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Philip Brophy
Philip Brophy
Philip Brophy, born in Reservoir, Melbourne 1959 is an Australian musician, composer, sound designer, filmmaker, writer, graphic designer, educator and academic.-Music:...
and written by Brophy and Rod Bishop (both ex-→ ↑ →
Tsk Tsk Tsk
→ ↑ → was an Australian experimental music project formed in Melbourne in 1977 and led by Philip Brophy. Aside from performing music the project produced artwork, films, videos, live theatre, multi-media, and wrote literature.-History:...
), influenced by "splatstick" Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
films like Bad Taste
Bad Taste
Bad Taste is a 1987 cult science fiction comedy horror film. Produced on a low budget, it is one of the first films directed by Peter Jackson. The film features Jackson and his friends taking a number of key roles, both on and off-screen...
and Braindead
Braindead (1992 film)
Braindead , released as Dead Alive in North America, is a cult zombie comedy splatstick horror film directed by Peter Jackson. The film is universally regarded as being one of the goriest films of all time...
.
Plot
The movie is about the residents of the small town of Pebbles Court who are the unknowing test subjects for a new variety of "Vimuville" dietary supplement pills that arrive for free in their mailboxes. The pills are designed to produce the ultimate healthy human, but have unexpected side effects including hallucinations and mutations. Despite the attempts made to warn the townsfolk from a previous test subject, who is now undergoing rapid cellular decay, he arrives too late, and crashes his car and is killed by tentacles growing out of his throat. The pills are consumed by the residents, and produce liquefying flesh, elongated tongues, exploding stomachs, exploding penises, imploding heads, monstrous births, tentacles growing out of the face, living mucus, sentient placentas, and other gruesome mutations. Ultimately more and more of the residents of the Pebbles Court mutate or die horrific deaths, until almost every character has been dispatched.Critical reception
- Video review wrote "With over 150 ways to melt your body, it's one of the most innovative and versatile horror films ever. Guaranteed to make you squirm."
- Samhain wrote "Unique and individual. A wicked and gruesome satire on the clean-living lifestyle of modern Australia as seen across the globe in various TV soaps."
- Screen International described the film "As satirical as it is sick-making. A cult hit."
- Star Burst wrote "Packs more mucous, phlegm, puke, snot, slime & spit than you'd ever think possible."
- Time Out wrote "Despite its emetic preoccupation with exploding stomach's & bodily fluids there is also a liberal injection of black humour."
- Fangoria wrote "A slime-soaked all-out shocker!"
- Face described the film as "A dumb/smart satire on health faclslm. The kind of movie they just don't make anymore."