Carl (Rod Steiger) encounters Willie (Robert Drivas) while they are both hoboing around. Willie is headed to California for a job. Carl seems to be an unstable grump covered with tattoos or what he calls, skin illustrations, which he got from the mysterious Felicia (Claire Bloom). Each tattoo tells a story of a future memory. As Willie stares at each one, a different story is revealed.
This is based on a 1951 Ray Bradbury book. It's got the early 70's sci-fi style. Back then, few people have full body tats. I do wonder how shocking it was back in the day. Going back to 1951, full body tattoos are relegated to Japanese gangsters and South Pacific natives. I'm guessing that Bradbury was inspired by people coming back from the Pacific war. The blank on Carl's back is way too obvious. Something is ready to go up there. It's too big. More generally, the pacing is too slow. The filmmaker is lingering with the story telling. Rod Steiger is acting in two speeds. Either he's too slow matching everyone else, or he is way too hyper in bombastic acting. As for the tattoos, there must be some way to bring in an element of body horror. This movie needs to heighten the horror. The sci-fi isn't that great either, but at least, the movie is trying. This movie feels undercooked.
This is based on a 1951 Ray Bradbury book. It's got the early 70's sci-fi style. Back then, few people have full body tats. I do wonder how shocking it was back in the day. Going back to 1951, full body tattoos are relegated to Japanese gangsters and South Pacific natives. I'm guessing that Bradbury was inspired by people coming back from the Pacific war. The blank on Carl's back is way too obvious. Something is ready to go up there. It's too big. More generally, the pacing is too slow. The filmmaker is lingering with the story telling. Rod Steiger is acting in two speeds. Either he's too slow matching everyone else, or he is way too hyper in bombastic acting. As for the tattoos, there must be some way to bring in an element of body horror. This movie needs to heighten the horror. The sci-fi isn't that great either, but at least, the movie is trying. This movie feels undercooked.