Laser X: operazione uomo

The Projected Man (1966)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Dr. Paul Steiner (Bryant Haliday) is doing experiments on a laser machine that he hopes to use to transport objects from one place to another (think of THE FLY). All is going well until they suffer a setback at which point he experiments on himself. This leaves him as a deformed monster with the ability to electrocute people to death with a simple touch.

THE PROJECTED MAN is a British horror film that seems to be a decade too late in the game. I say that because this scientific tale just feels very old-fashioned for a film from 1966. As I said in my plot description, the plot is pretty much lifted from THE FLY and nothing about it had been updated to make it fit the era that it was released. Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 will also know that the film was spoofed by them and that helped form its current reputation.

In all honesty, THE PROJECTED MAN isn't a masterpiece or even a good film but at the same time it's not nearly as awful as some reviewers will make it out to be. As I said, the biggest problem is the fact that it's a bit too old-fashioned for its own good but there are still some good moments in the film. There's no question that the highlight of the picture is the monster itself. The doctor pretty much has half of his body burned and this deformed look is actually quite memorable. I thought the special effects were good for what they were and the monster certainly made the film worth sitting through.

Another good thing were the performances from Haliday, Norman Wooland and Mary Peach as the three lead doctors doing the experiments. I'd also argue that the cinematography was at least decent for this type of film. As far as the flaws go, the story itself is pretty unoriginal and it's really too bad that the monster didn't have more time in the movie. The movie works best when he's out killing but this takes up very little of the 77-minute running time.

THE PROJECTED MAN will appeal to fans of British horror films. It's not perfect but it's entertaining enough for what it is.

Ok first of all, this movie sucks. But lets examine why. The proposition that a machine is capable of transforming matter into energy, storing it, and then transporting it and reasembling it is at the least intriguing. But that's as far as they take this premise. Instead of delving into what could happen if someone made this kind of machine, they break the damn thing. This could have been a good premise. Living with the responsibilty of this kind of power, and dealing with the constant temptation, ie.. the invisible man. But no.. they break the damn thing. And Lembach wants to leave. So then the doctor jerry-rigs the thing back together, and trys to transport himself. Only to have it goofed up by his beautiful but dumb secretary, (duh). Which wouldn't happened if Lembach hadn't decided to leave. So now he is roaming the country side killing people because his little experiment failed, and they wouldn't give him money. Wah. Then to make the movie worse, throw in a dry British relationship between the two semi-competent professors hired to assist him. Between their loving sessions, they make a couple of half-hearted attempts to find him while he kills off half of London. All of this could have been headed off by not breaking the damn machine, which would never have happened if Lembach hadn't left. This movie tried so I give it an honest 2 stars for effort, but it would have been better if they hadn't broke the damn machine, making Lembach leave, making him try it again. Damn you Lembach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1966's "The Projected Man" obviously suffers from an unoriginal script eventually picked up for production in Britain by Richard Gordon, shot soon after its superior co-feature "Island of Terror." Elements of "The Fly," in its use of a matter transference machine, and "4D Man," in its sabotage and revenge plot line, make for a prosaic viewing unlikely to get a rise out of any but the most die-hard sci-fi fans. Not so much a bad film as subpar, Gordon regular Bryant Haliday, a genuine horror buff who co-founded Janus Films, takes the title role of Dr. Paul Stanton, dedicated researcher, so close to success that he enlists the assistance of his novice secretary in the lab, resulting in his being transported to the wrong location, one hand and half his face destroyed, a walking power station whose electrical touch proves lethal. Things only pick up following a gabby first half, aided by decent effects and suitably gruesome makeup design for Haliday's monstrosity. His performance lacks the proper zip, but easily stands out due to the lackluster actors around him. Top billed Mary Peach still cringes at the mention of this film, later the widow of Hammer screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, confining most of her efforts to television afterwards. Most viewers will recall newcomer Tracey Crisp, whose scantily clad appearance in her underwear couldn't help but be noticed! Alas, everyone else, particularly the bland villains, leave virtually no impression, save for one cast member retained from "Island of Terror," Sam Kydd (the constable), here sadly reduced to one scene as a thief who becomes one of Haliday's first victims.

It's a delightful but typical and overused cliché in horror movies that brilliant and obsessive scientists suddenly go bonkers and ruthlessly use themselves as guinea pigs with grotesque and catastrophic consequences. It's what makes this kind of movies entertaining, of course, but it's not exactly plausible. These brilliant men (or women) of science risk their lives even though they are practically certain the outcome will be irreversible and most likely fatal? Anyways, I'm always eager to watch a good old- fashioned "science gone wrong" horror flick; especially when it was made in Great Britain during the most flourishing decade for the genre (1960 – 1970). "The Projected Man" understandably became somewhat forgotten in between all the popular and high-grossing "Frankenstein" and "Quatermass" movies produced by the legendary Hammer Studios, but it's still a worthwhile effort with a decent screenplay, reasonable amounts of suspense and good gruesome make-up effects for its time. Doctor Steiner is a smart man, working on a hi-tech device that – during the first stage – vaporizes objects and then transforms them into pure energy that is kept is a cell, and then projected back into its original forms by a super-powerful laser. Don't ask me how it works, because I didn't understand one iota of all the technical details (and there are far too many overlong and purely technical monologues, by the way) but it's somewhat comparable to the "Tele-Pods" that previously featured in "The Fly". And here as well, the device works perfectly well with lifeless objects, but when Steiner attempts to project living tissue, the test animals die instantly and give off incredibly heavy electric shocks. Meanwhile, the director of the research facility wants the experiments to fail and even sabotages crucial demonstrations. I didn't quite capture why he – Dr. Blanchard – must terminate this genius scientific breakthrough, but at least he succeeds in driving Dr. Steiner to madness. He uses the unstable device on himself and re-emerges with a half-demolished face, a burning pair of hands capable of inflicting sudden death through electrocution and a lust for murdering everyone who gets in his way. I know it has a bad reputation, but I quite enjoyed "The Projected Man". Admittedly you require a fair share of patience and tolerance regarding stupid plot twists, dire love stories and tedious sequences set in cheap laboratory settings full of blinking lights and annoying buzzers. But when Steiner eventually goes on his rampage, it turns into a fun and unscrupulous midnight movie that I warmly recommend.

This movie is no sci-fi/horror masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. But it is far better than most of the reviewers on IMDb would have you believe. It was originally released here in the USA on the second half of a double bill with the somewhat better ISLAND OF TERROR with Peter Cushing. I convinced my dad to take me to the drive- in for the bill when it was released, but it was a school night and he wouldn't tumble to staying for the second feature. Since then, it has been notoriously hard to track down. I finally saw it about a year ago and was surprised on how entertaining it was, especially considering how I had read various disparaging things about it in the interim. It does borrow elements from the earlier FLY pictures as well as the Karloff film, THE INVISIBLE RAY, and is by no means particularly original. However, since when does that really detract from the enjoyment factor of a low budget, sci-fi monster film? For the most part, you better resign yourself to that going in, or else stop watching films altogether. In its favor, it does move at a fast pace, has decent actors and color cinematography, some nice grisly shocks and certainly decent effects for a low budget sixties film from England. An added bonus, there is a distinctly assertive heroine scientist played by Mary Peach, a character who remains in possession of her wits, and aggressively intelligent without being obnoxious (her character is the sympathetic colleague of Bryant Halliday who becomes the tragically disfigured, death-dealing PROJECTED MAN) Undeserving of its bad rep.