Resurrecting Project Metal Beast
It’s WEREWOLF WEEK on Horror Bound! Why? Because WHY NOT?! Werewolves never get as much love as Zombies or Vampires and we’re here to bring them more attention. All of this week we’ll be pumping out werewolf themed content. Join us all over social media as we celebrate!
It’s Werewolf Week here at Horror Bound and this provides me with a great opportunity to attempt to resurrect a near forgotten classic of the mid-90s, Project Metal Beast. Up until a few weeks ago this movie was a forgotten blur in my memory when a passing conversation in the office had one of my co-workers mention the incredible Project Metal Beast. I had to pause and think, have I watched this before? As the mid-1990’s blur into the deep recess of my memory and the overwhelming number of direct-to-video releases that I’ve watched piles higher and higher in my mind I concluded that I have not watched this film before, even if Joe Bob hosted it on Monster Vision. I’ll take an opportunity to watch it now and use this article to spread the word on this near forgotten gem.
That’s the Metal Beast! And underneath that suit is horror legend Kane Hodder. 1993 saw the end of the original Friday the 13th series and that meant Kane Hodder needed to fill his time. In between the release of Jason Goes to Hell in 1993 and Jason X in 2001, Project Metal Beast is the only movie the legendary man beneath the mask had underneath a mask, also the most considerable amount of screen time that he had in that time frame as the rest of his roles were relegated to Thug #1 or Uncredited Kidnapper. With a horror icon like Kane Hodder involved surely this film would have gained a cult following, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
The premise is very simple on this one. In 1974 a CIA agent, investigating a castle on an island encounters a werewolf and kills it with silver bullets. He takes some of the werewolf blood back to Washington DC in hopes of making super soldiers, but he gets pissed off at delays and injects the blood into his own body. He transforms into a werewolf, is shot with silver bullets that don’t kill him but only disable him long enough that they can enter him into cryostasis where he sits for 20 years. He is awakened from his slumber by a group of scientists who specialize in creating synthetic human skin made of metal when they remove the silver bullets from his body. The inevitable happens, he breaks free going on a murderous rampage and the only people left to fight him are two of the female scientists armed only with a bazooka with silver tipped rockets.
This is not a low budget trashy flick. It is very well put together, professional, and crisp in its presentation. The story line is absurd, but the movie remains very grounded. An outstanding performance by Barry Bostwick as the villainous Miller. Not to mention outstanding creature and special effects, rare for direct-to-video movies of the 1990’s. Unsure why this one fell to obscurity as it is very unique, but hopefully we can lift this one from the shadows.
No trailer exists for this movie. There was never a DVD release and even IMDB has the wrong photo for it. Please give this movie some love and watch it streaming for free on Tubi. And while you’re at it, send a tweet to Arrow Video, Vinegar Syndrome and all the those other cult and genre film groups out there and lets see if we can get a re-release for Project Metal Beast to preserve this horror classic for future generations.
Want more werewolf content? Of course you do! Search below:
