Slime City (1988)

Slime City (1988)

Starring Craig Sabin, Mary Huner, and T.J. Merrick

Written & directed by Gregory Lamberson

Slime City is a 1988 film written and directed by Gregory Lamberson ( Undying Love a.k.a. New York Vampire, Slime City Massacre ).

An art student named Alex ( Craig Sabin a.k.a. Robert C. Sabin ) moves into a dilapidated apartment building with a bizarre array of inhabitants, who have formed into a cult like community.  The creepy congregation take a special interest in the young man, particularly, an eerie street type named Roman ( Dennis Embry ) and the sexually aggressive predator, Nicole ( Mary Huner ).  After consuming a strange green yogurt like substance, and a libation of similarly emerald color, and getting intimate with Nicole, Alex begins to transform into a slime creature, who must murder others in order to return to human form.  His girlfriend Lori ( Mary Huner ) notices the changes in his personality, and begins wondering if, there is a side to her boyfriend she never new.  Can Alex stop himself from consuming the addictive green substances?  Will he find what is behind the facade of his fellow tenants?  Is there anything Lori can do to help?

Slime City creator Gregory Lamberson has written and directed other films, such as Undying Love a.k.a. New York Vampire (1991), Naked Fear (1999), and Slime City Massacre (2010).  He also wrote the novels, Johnny Gruesome ( also an upcoming film ), Black Creek, The Frenzy series ( The Frenzy Way, The Frenzy War, The Frenzy Wolves ), The Jake Helman Files ( Personal Demons, Desperate Souls, Cosmic Forces, Tortured Spirits, Storm Demon, and Human Monsters ), among others.  He also worked on Frank Henelotter's amazing Brain Damage (1988).  Craig Sabin a.k.a. Robert Sabin who played the lead character Alex, also appeared in Undying Love a.k.a. New York Vampire (1991), Naked Fear (1999), Slime City Massacre (2010), and I Was A Teenage Zombie (1987).  The actress that appeared in the dual role of Nicole, and Alex's girlfriend Lori, also acted in Ghoul School (1990), Undying Love a.k.a. New York Vampire, an episode of the tv series Law & Order, and Lethal Justice (1995). The special effects make up was done by Scott Coulter, credited as J. Scott Coulter, whose credits include The Mangler (1995), Tales From the Crypt Demon  Knight, as well as episodes of the HBO tv series.  Dan Frye, who was involved in the films Cemetery High (1988), Munchie (1992), and Tom Lauten, whose credits include The Toxic Avenger (1984), and Robot Holocaust, both round out the make up effects crew.

 Addiction, sexual frustration, isolation, cult indoctrination, and the dual nature of the human psyche are predominant themes throughout this picture.  After having dinner with Roman, Alex becomes hooked on the, so called Himalayan yogurt and green wine, which has the side effect of turning him into a melting slime creature.  In order to counter this adverse reaction, he must take human life.  Then, once again, he begins to crave and consume the green substances, transforms, and then is forced to kill again, creating a sort of cycle of addiction.  Sexual frustration, another theme in the film is seen in such scenes, as when Alex is in bed awake at night, and hears the moans and cries from Nicole's apartment across the hall, when her and a stranger, that she brought home, are engaging in sex.  Another scene has, Alex waking from sleep covered in a sticky substance that resembles semen.  A surreal 'wet dream'.  This motif is also apparent in Alex falling prey to the seduction of Nicole.  As the picture progresses, it becomes clear that addictive substances, sex, isolation, and psychological vulnerability are used to indoctrinate one into a cult much in the same way as Charles Manson did, when he formed his 'family'.

The dual nature of the human psyche is in full display throughout Slime City.  The amazing dream sequence, shot in expressionistic black & white, where Alex meets Zachary, seems to suggest that Zachary represents Alex's deep repressed dark desires, his shadow side, in his unconsious mind.  This scene has so much subtext built into it, with the light and shadow ( consious / unconsious mind ), and the titled picture frames giving the scene a disjointed feel, and emphasizing the breakdown of Alex's mind.  This is one of my favorite sequences in the film.

This symbolism is also present in the scenes in Nicole's apartment, with it's deep shadows and jagged, off kilter pieces of wood sticking out of the walls, and the scene where Alex kills the prostitute.  Sitting on the bed waiting for his prey, he is immersed in the darkness of his own mind.

This sort of light and dark binary of the mind is also expressed in the characters of Lori and Nicole, both played by the same actress.  Lori represents the light / conscious mind, while Nicole is the shadow self, the dark / unconscious mind.  As the film progresses, both Lori and Nicole seem to become archetypal symbols of Alex's own mind.  The scene, later in the film, has Alex seated at his desk sketching a picture of Lori, as Nicole stands behind him makes this explicit, talking in his ear in the following dialogue exchange:

NICOLE: She's so wholesome looking.

ALEX: Some guys like that.

NICOLE: Do you?
ALEX: Sometimes.

Nicole seems to be that dark aspect of Alex trying to persuade him to reject the light / conscious aspects of himself, and give himself totally over the darker, forbidden side of his psyche, instead of finding a balance with both.

 

There many artful lighting schemes and shot compositions, particularly in the aforementioned scenes that take place in Nicole's apartment, the great black & white dream sequence, Alex's own apartment where he kills the prostitute, and many scenes through the whole picture, where shadows are etched across walls.  A wonderful array of noirish / expressionistic images.

The make up effects were also amazing with the various blood drenched murders and transformations ( especially in the finale ).  The music score  by Robert Tomaro is great, as well, and really fit the film.  I highly recommend this unique and fantastic film. That's just my opinion. Your's may differ.