Man-Thing (film)

At Dark Waters, a Native American sacred land containing an enigmatic swamp spirit, a teenager is murdered by a plant-like monster. The following day, young replacement sheriff Kyle Williams reaches Bywater and meets with deputy sheriff Fraser, who tells him the previous sheriff is among 47 missing persons since oil tycoon Fred Schist bought the ancient tribal lands from shaman and Seminole chieftain Ted Sallis, the first to disappear. Schist claimed that Sallis had sold the lands legally and then escaped with the money. Schist then asked the sheriff for help: local protesters opposed his perfectly legal activities, and mestizo scoundrel Rene Laroque was sabotaging his facilities. Williams investigates this while trying to find an explanation for the missing people, some of which were found brutally murdered with plants growing from inside their bodies. Photographer Mike Ploog and shaman Pete Horn tell Williams local legends about the guardian spirit, suggesting that it could be real.

As sabotage and murder continue, Williams investigates the swamp with Fraser and finds the previous sheriff's corpse. Medical examiner Val Mayerik admits that the previous sheriff had ordered him to file the deaths as alligator attacks, even if Mayerik believed otherwise.

Williams and Fraser try to track Laroque, who lives in the swamp, by using a canoe. At the same time, Schist sends the Thibadeux brothers, local thugs, to track and murder Laroque. The monster in the swamp finds the Thibadeux and kills them. Williams is ensnared by Laroque, who admits having helped Schist buy the lands. Laroque claims that Sallis was opposed to the sale; Laroque insists that the guardian spirit would keep on murdering until Schist stops desecrating the sacred swamp. Fraser tries to help Laroque, but the Man-Thing timely appears and murders Fraser; Laroque knocks Williams down and escapes. Williams wakes up and finds Ploog, who has blurry pictures of the monster; the sheriff seizes the photographs and forbids Ploog to come back to the swamp.

The following day, Williams interviews Horn and Schist, with the help of schoolteacher Teri Richards' help. Williams starts having romantic feelings for Richards. Horn goes to the swamp and tries to stop the Man-Thing with prayers and sacrificing his own life. The monster kills Horn, but is not otherwise affected by his efforts. That night, Mayerik autopsies the old sheriff and finds a bullet. He tries to tell Williams, but he is back at the swamp, unreachable. Mayerik tells Richards, and she goes to the swamp to tell Williams. Meanwhile, Ploog had returned to the swamp, trying to get a picture of the monster. Instead he startles Schist, who was in the swamp to murder Laroque. Schist shoots and kills Ploog. Soon afterward, Laroque ambushes and defeats Schist's son and minion Jake.

Williams finds Ploog's corpse and reasons that Schist murdered Ploog. He then meets Richards, who tells him about Mayerik's autopsy. Williams concludes that Schist is guilty of several murders, trying to incriminate Laroque simply to avoid punishment. According to Schist's confession to Laroque, he murdered Sallis and buried him in Dark Waters. Due to the magic embedded in the soil, Sallis returned as the Man-Thing. Richards reveals that she can guide Williams to Laroque's lair, but the Man-Thing starts chasing them. He chases them to the drilling tower at Dark Waters. In the tower, Schist is leveling his weapon at Laroque in an attempt to prevent Laroque from blowing it away with dynamite. Laroque nonetheless tries to detonate his bomb and is shot and wounded by Schist; Schist then wounds Williams.

However, the Man-Thing arrives and brutally murders Schist by filling his body with oil. The Man-Thing then moves toward Williams and Richards. Laroque sacrifices himself shouting at the monster and blowing the bomb. The monster survives the flames, but then is absorbed back to the land, allowing Williams and Richards to leave unharmed.

The characters portrayed by Mammone, Zappa, and director Leonard are named after Mike Ploog, Steve Gerber, and Val Mayerik, who all worked on the Man-Thing comic. A photo of Man-Thing co-creator Stan Lee can be seen on the board of "Missing People" who have been presumably killed by the Man-Thing.

The band AzUR (DOG Productions' Wayne and Luke, joined by Bec And Freddie) recorded the song "The Man-Thing Lives Again" which was played over the end credits of the film. It was supposed to be released as a promotional video, but since the film was in a constant state of flux (financial, script, etc. ...) and was not going to theatres (as intended), the music video was pulled for lack of budget. Marvel did not want to leak advance images of the set and creature costume before the film's eventual release. One of the band members has worked on the footage and uploaded a remix on YouTube.[8]

In October 2003, Man-Thing had been scheduled for release on August 27, 2004.[1] The US release date was set for Halloween (October 31) 2004,[8] but when Marvel Enterprises released its second quarter financial report, Man-Thing was included in the 2005 line-up with a release date to be decided. Reportedly, the film was so bad that the test audience walked out before it was finished. So, Marvel put it back on video in the United States, since it would not be bankable in a domestic release. The film was released internationally in places like Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Man-Thing was released on April 30, 2005, as a "Sci-Fi Original" on the Sci-Fi Channel.[8]

The character's film rights, along with the other Marvel characters whose film rights were previously acquired by Artisan Entertainment, have reverted to Marvel.[18][19]

The film premiered in Singapore on April 21, 2005.

The film was released on DVD on June 14, 2005, in the United States.[20]

It was released as a two-disc DVD in Region 2 format.[21]

The Man-Thing appears in the 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe special Werewolf by Night, motion-captured by Carey Jones and with Jeffrey Ford providing additional vocalizations.[34]

• Man-Thing at IMDb
• Man-Thing at Box Office Mojo
• Man-Thing at Rotten Tomatoes