The Projected Man (1967)

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.

The only reason I don't give this movie fewer than 3 stars is because it isn't quite on par with a movie like Manos: The Hands of Fate. This movie's greatest crime is the fact that it is head-meltingly boring & terribly, unforgivably British. The premise of this movie sounds potentially promising, the whole teleporting concept, but the direction they went with it was completely uninteresting. It was more a movie about research funding and bowties than projecting lasers. The actors were wooden, unemotional, and aloof. As was the love affair between the two scientists-- which was anything but intriguing. I never was able to tell what the attraction was between them as the chemistry was non-existent. Nor did I really understand why the melty-faced main guy decided to slaughter everyone he met. At least now I know that I should always give someone a fair hearing before I cut off their research grants, else they go rampaging about, killing wantonly with goofy hand gestures.

(spoilers)The one truly memorable part of this otherwise rather dull and tepid bit of British cuisine is Steiner's henna rinse, one of the worst dye jobs ever. That, and the magnificent caterpillar eyebrows on the old evil dude who was trying to steal Steiner's invention. MST3K does an admirable job of making a wretchedly boring and grey film funny.I particularly like it when Crow kills Mike with his 'touch of death', and when he revives him in the theatre, Mike cries "Guys, I died, I saw eternal truth and beauty! oh, it's this movie..." That would be a letdown, having to come back from the afterlife to watch the rest of The Projected Man. The film could make a fortune being sold as a sleep aide. Some of the puns in the film were wicked: police inspector-"electrocution!" Crow-"Shocking, isn't it?" police inspector-"That's LOwe, all right" Tom Servo-"Very low, right down by the floor!" police inspector-"Can I get on?" Tom Servo-"He's dead, but knock yourself out" MST3K is definitely the only way to watch this snoozer.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!