Some movies just scream greatness by their title alone and while Pyro… The Thing Without A Face was indeed a good film, it was by no means great, not that it did not try. Directed by Julio Coll, the man would go on to say it was his favourite work and there is a lot to love here, at least until the end where he would fumble the ball just a wee bit, but not enough to ruin it by any means.

Starring Barry Sullivan as Vance Pierson, a man who is currently having an affair with Martha Hyer’s Laura Blanco, he knows what he wants at least until it gets serious. Why he would do as such in the first place when he has a beautiful woman at home that he calls his wife is a mystery and one that is never to be solved after she is killed by the jealous Laura. As the fire Laura starts kills Barry’s wife and child, it also disfigures him for life, both physically and mentally, from the flames and the loss he suffers. Vowing vengeance upon Laura no matter how long it takes, he flees the hospital where he is recuperating only to show up years later and find that which he seeks while claiming other victims along the way.

Coll spins a tale of vengeance with this movie and while the events are horrible, there is not as much horror as there could be. What there is works quite well though, that being the slow but steady feeling of something creeping up on a person and the director uses it to his advantage as he paints this story of a man destroyed who lives only for one thing. As this monster slowly comes to life, the audience can also see that he still has a heart. It might be buried deep but it manages to shine through during rare moments at the carnival and finally, during that final scene as he holds the life of Laura’s child in his hands. It rises one last time and he does the right thing before finality takes hold.

The acting within was surprisingly solid, Sullivan playing the lead quite capably and more importantly, believably. One does not feel anything but contempt for the man at first for cheating on his wife but once he loses her and his child, one cannot help but feel sorry and pity for all he has gone through. Hyer is on another level, almost like she has something to prove after fading from those A-list pictures from the previous decade, looking as good if not better than she ever did. Her character Laura is as complicated as they come, a woman with a troubled childhood and one whose adult life is not all she dreamed, so much so that she takes out her frustrations in the worst way possible.

As for the special effects, there are few to be had but the practical effects used to portray Barry during the final act of the film are quite fantastic. His face is gone and what remains is horribly disfigured, a true monster if there ever were one as he looks to burn Laura alive. The budget for this movie may not have been very high but it was used to good effect and what ended up on the screen made it all worthwhile. Taken as a whole, the film had more good than bad and while that final moment could have used a little more punch, perhaps doing what Barry had said he was going to do which was sending Laura and all she cares about to the grave, Coll made it work and made Pyro… The Thing Without A Face worth the time and effort.

3.5 out of 5