This late '50s sci-fi/horror tale was financed by Jack H. Harris, producer of the original The Blob (1957) and Dinosaurus! (1960). It's a fun, surprisingly well-made film featuring commendable special effects, a punchy all-jazz score, and an excellent lead performance by the late Robert Lansing. 4D Man also has to be just about the most vibrantly colorful genre flick of the period I've ever seen.
The story opens with brash young scientist Tony Nelson (Congdon) performing an after-hours experiment at the research institute that employs him. He's obsessed with the idea of manipulating electromagnetic fields in order to pass any solid object "through" another. Somehow this involves the temporary co-mingling of atoms so that, essentially, two objects occupy the same space at one time without damaging one another. Tony's only success to date — passing an ordinary pencil through a block of solid steel — came by accident. His accident-prone tendencies continue as the current experiment fails, overheating the equipment and catching the lab on fire. Within moments the whole institute is ablaze. Not surprisingly, Tony soon finds himself out of a job.
The unemployed scientist shows up at the private physics lab where his older brother, Scott (Lansing), is a top researcher. Levelheaded and dedicated to his work, Scott views Tony as an irresponsible ne'er-do-well. There's been "bad blood" between the brothers in the past — Tony once ran off with Scott's then-fiancé — but Scott is willing to bury the hatchet and help Tony out. Since Tony's a top-notch scientist (despite his flighty behavior and often crackpot-sounding theories), Scott helps him secure a job at the lab, which is engaged in R & D for the Pentagon. But history begins to repeat itself as pretty research assistant Linda (Lee Meriwether), whom Scott carries a torch for, starts falling for Tony. Adding to Scott's woes, Dr. Carson (Edgar Stelhi), his employer, steals most of the personal credit for a potentially profitable new discovery made by the team Scott heads. He's also informed by the company physician that exposure to radiation on the job may somehow be affecting his brain. Downtrodden, Scott proposes marriage to Linda but is rebuffed. In a fit of pique Scott breaks into Tony's storage locker to take a look at little bro's "hobby" project. While tinkering about with Tony's "force field" apparatus, Scott accidentally makes a startling discovery — he's able to pass his hand through a solid steel block by simply willing it. He informs his brother, who's shocked to learn that Scott doesn't even need the machine to duplicate the process! Very quickly Scott masters this new power, able to pass his entire body through solid walls while in a self-generated "4th Dimensional" state. Much like The Invisible Man's Jack Griffin, Scott is morally corrupted by this almost god-like ability; that very night he uses it to rob a bank of $50,000 (for no other reason than he can). There's a high price to pay, of course. Every time he uses the power Scott loses decades off his life span, aging years within seconds. By means of another accident he discovers that his youth and energy can be restored — by draining the life force from other human beings. The touch of the 4D Man means death.
Lansing (Empire of the Ants) is very, very good as the scientist turned murdering monster. His nuanced performance, spanning the gamut of emotions, really sells the movie and its less than plausible concept. So do the "4D" special effects, achieved either through blue-screen process photography or simple camera tricks. (While dated by today's standards, they generally still hold up well enough to permit a suspension of disbelief; they must've looked quite cool to audiences at the time.) Actually, the film's best effects involve the rapid aging deaths of Scott's victims, whose agonized shriveling is realized with makeup and, in one scene, a combination of time-lapse photography and animation.
Perhaps the most commented upon facet of 4D Man is composer Ralph Carmichael's unusual jazz score. It's more akin to that of a Noir-style police procedural than a science fiction film. You won't hear a single note played on a theramin. Bold and brassy horn riffs frequently accentuate the onscreen action with aural punctuation marks; the cool bass/drum passages wouldn't seem out of place in an episode of Twin Peaks. Occasionally inappropriate in scenes where no musical accompaniment at all would have served better (and in one case — the picnic in the park — getting downright silly), I think it's an asset to the film as a whole.
Image's edition of 4D Man is one of the company's earlier releases ('99), so the DVD unfortunately comes in the cardboard "snapper"-type packaging. It's also completely bereft of Extras — there isn't even a trailer. On the plus side, audio/visual quality is quite good considering the film's age and low budget heritage. Presented fullframe (don't worry, you're not missing anything), print damage is minimal while colors are astoundingly vibrant. The digital mono audio track is crisp and clear. Best of all, the disc is quite inexpensive.
