THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Adventure / Sci-Fi

Director: Jack Arnold

Cast: Grant Williams / Randy Stuart / Paul Langton

Plot

Overcome suddenly by a mysterious cloud while on vacation, Scott Carey finds that he begins to shrink with each passing day.  Eventually reduced to the size of an insect, he finds everyday life a grim struggle for survival.

What I Liked

Honestly, I am astonished by how good this movie actually was.  It is a well-known film but not one I had ever seen and until today I lumped it in with the rest of the preposterous science fiction films made in the 1950s.  Kitschy, I assumed, but not relevant.  Its premise does of course make it a member of the spate of ridiculous “horrors of atomic power and radioactivity” films to come out of that decade.  However, “The Incredible Shrinking Man” also has the added dimension of being timeless because of its thoughtful, if none-too-subtle, study of the value of life and man’s relationship with existence.

Exploitative and simple though it may be, the movie’s premise of a man continually shrinking provides the opportunity for the writers and filmmakers to dwell upon concepts that have been plaguing mankind for centuries as well as those that are particularly poignant in the modern world.  As Scott shrinks, he finds himself overcome with the insecurities of powerlessness and insignificance.  This leads him on a quest to reconcile his new concept of himself with some sense of purpose and meaning not only for his life but for the universe, not unlike the use of religion by many to reconcile a similar need.  Considering that this film was part of the post-war era, coming along after the power and the importance of the individual in society had been trivialized by war, genocide, and two atomic bombs in the 1940s, Carey’s struggles have a timely significance that still resonates today.

The film also takes an interesting look, though perhaps unintentionally, at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, for as Carey continues to shrink his needs become ever more primitive.  Initially, Scott loses his confidence and self-esteem.  Before long his struggle becomes one of finding understanding and companionship in others.  Soon enough his problem leads him to the more basic challenges of maintaining proper shelter and clothing.  Finally, his daily life becomes dominated by the constant struggle for food, water, and basic survival.  This final stage, constituting the entire second half of the film, makes for some surprisingly impressive special effects and some wonderfully intense action scenes.

What I Didn’t Like

As much as I was impressed by the movie’s more philosophical elements, screenwriter Richard Matheson (who also wrote the novel that inspired the film) was too heavy-handed for me in his use of second-rate poetics and melodramatic descriptions in the main character’s narration.  One horribly cliché and over-the-top musing follows the other, each more embarrassing than the last.  If it weren't for it being the middle of the night and my not wanting to wake my wife, I probably would have shouted "Oh shut up!" at the screen.  The dialogue was just horribly written overall, with all the naturalism of a bad comic book and never once giving the sense that the characters are real people.  

Most Memorable Scene

What surprised me the most about “The Incredible Shrinking Man” was that I actually found it frightening.  The scenes where Carey, about the size of an ant, is forced to fend for himself against a tarantula (not Claymation or stop motion, but the real deal) that is comparatively about the size of an SUV proved the most distressing, as the effects are still good enough to fool the brain into recoiling in horror.  I wish I could think of a more creative way to put it, but that thing just plain freaked me out.  By the film’s climax, I was writhing uncomfortably on the sofa, unable to contain my anxiety.

My Rating: 4 out of 5