Scalpel, 1977.
Directed by John Grissmer.
Starring Robert Lansing, Judith Chapman, Arlen Dean Snyder, David Scarroll, and Sandy Martin.
SYNOPSIS:
A psychopathic plastic surgeon tries to claim a huge inheritance by transforming the face of an accident victim into that of his missing daughter.
John Grissmer’s debut feature Scalpel is an odd one. Odd because, on the surface, the plot is so ludicrous that you’d expect it would be some sort of grindhouse splatter-fest where mad surgeons are carving victims faces up with maniacal glee and flinging the dead flesh at the camera; after all, back in the mid 1970s (the film was made in 1975 but not released until 1977) the practice of plastic surgery was reserved solely for unfortunate accident victims or the extremely rich and not something mainstream audiences had regular access to so it carried about it a bit of mystery. But dig beneath the surface – or cut away the face of it, if you like – and there is a lot more going on with it than the slasher movies that Scalpel often gets lumped in with.
Initially, what is most surprising about Scalpel is how polished and presentable it all looks, coming off like a TV movie despite cinematographer Edward Lachman’s colour grading giving the film a yellowy-green tint to enhance the Southern Gothic feel. The TV movie vibe is further enhanced by the appearance of US TV regular Robert Lansing (Star Trek/The Equalizer) in the lead role of Dr. Phillip Reynolds, a brilliant plastic surgeon who doesn’t seem to be very much liked by his father-in-law who has just died and left Reynolds and Reynolds’ brother-in-law Bradley (Arlen Dean Snyder – Heartbreak Ridge) next to nothing in his will. The deceased patriarch blames Reynolds for the death of his daughter and has left his $5 million fortune to Reynolds’ daughter Heather (Judith Chapman – The Fall Guy/Magnum P.I.) but Heather has been missing for a year and nobody knows how to get in contact with her so she can claim her inheritance.
As luck would have it, though, whilst out driving Reynolds and Bradley cross paths with a stripper who has been badly beaten up by the bouncer of the nightclub she was in and so, with his best devious face on, Reynolds takes the helpless woman to his hospital and starts rebuilding her face in the image of Heather and convincing her to pretend to be Heather in order to claim the money and split it in down the middle with him. However, after Bradley suffers an unfortunate heart attack just after he has figured out what is going on the real Heather turns up for the funeral, and then things get really interesting for Dr. Reynolds…
It is the sort of plot you would find in an episode of The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents that probably wouldn’t amount to much during the running time of a TV show but here John Grissmer has taken Joseph Weintraub’s original story idea and made it an intriguing psychological thriller that offers much more than a far-fetched swindle as its central premise, mostly thanks to the idea that Phillip Reynolds and his daughter’s impersonator – named only as Jane – become romantically involved. Jokes about Southern families and the stereotypes that come with them aside, it is actually quite a creepy moment when Phillip offers to take her out for the evening and “have some fun” only for Jane to suggest staying in and having some fun before stripping off, and it is then that you realise that Reynolds isn’t just greedy but he’s downright insane. There are other plot details that lead you to this conclusion, not least the flashback where the reason for Heather’s disappearance is revealed, but in a film full of plot twists and character arcs it is this one detail that manages to be the most uncomfortable.
Of course, the whole story is absurd and not to be taken seriously, something that Robert Lansing is clearly relishing in as he stops just short of winking at the camera every time a new twist is revealed, and the performances and writing are what carry the film along at a fairly brisk pace, only really slowing down towards the inevitable climax that gives you an ending telegraphed very early on but coming at just the right moment before the film runs out of steam. It is not entirely dissatisfying but had Scalpel, essentially being a body horror story, been directed by David Cronenberg instead of John Grissmer then the possibilities as to where it could have gone certainly excite the senses. Perhaps a remake could head down that route…?
Presented in a 2K restoration, the film appears on the disc in two different versions, one being Edward Lachman’s original colour graded version and the other being Arrow Video’s natural version. Both are pristine and look fantastically clean, although Arrow’s version does play into the TV movie feel a lot more. The yellows and greens of Lachman’s version are a little distracting at first but once the setting changes from the city hospital to Reynolds’ mansion house in the country it is a lot more effective and adds that essential Southern Gothic flavour. Extras include interviews with writer/director John Grissmer, cinematographer Edward Lachman and actress Judith Chapman as well as an audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith so there is plenty of material to bulk up the main feature but, overall, Scalpel stands up well enough on its own as a solid thriller with some dubious morals and a dark streak of humour running through it that gives it the necessary zing that the fairly flat direction does not, thanks to the nuances from the main cast. It isn’t a slasher movie – it is barely even a horror movie – but Scalpel, when looked at more closely, does have the necessary qualities to appeal to fans of both, despite being quite light on gore but a bit heavier on plot and entertainment value.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
