Man-Thing Year: 2005 Director: Brett Leonard Written by: Hans Rodionoff Threat: Guardian Spirit Weapon of Choice: Limbs Based upon: comic book IMDb page:

Other movies in this series:
None

The tyranist's thoughts
Having read a couple of Man-Thing comics, I was looking forward to this release, even if it did end up being a Sci-Fi Channel then straight to DVD release instead of something I could see theatrically. Of course, the DVD was definitely not the version shown on the Sci-Fi Channel, as I doubt some of that would get past the censors.
There's a new sheriff in Bywater because the old sheriff has disappeared along with several townspeople. The key conflict in the little bayou town is between the local oil tycoon and the environmentalists with their Native American allies. As more people disappear and then turn back up in various states of dismemberment, the sheriff must figure out who or what is tearing the town apart.
The cast had no one I recognized in it except in that nagging way that turns out to be the memorable extra sitting on the bus next to the hero in your favorite movie of 20 years ago. The script was decent, but not special. The concept was nothing new. Really the draw is probably the monster, which they appropriately do not show in its full glory until the end. It was a combination puppet/CGI thing where the puppet looked very cool and the CGI mostly lame. Alas.
I doubt there were many people waiting on this one the way I was, but if you are, it is definitely worth checking out. Also, if you are into environmental horror based in swamps, then you'll probably like it. Not that it was particularly frightening or that it convinced me I'm damaging the environment, or that small school children should be kept from seeing it. I've seen worse though. Including worse made of Marvel properties.
Posted: June 20, 2005

Total Skulls: 18

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?