When it comes to movies made on a shoestring budget, it’s easy to write them off as mindless schlock, cranked out for cheap laughs or midnight movie marathons. But every now and then, a film stumbles into the spotlight with just enough heart, wit, and weirdness to make you wonder if there’s more lurking beneath the absurdity. Enter Inhumanwich!, a gloriously campy sci-fi spoof where a cosmic accident turns a hapless astronaut into a giant, man-eating… Sloppy Joe. Yes, you read that right. Is this a cinematic trainwreck, or a brilliant satire hiding behind meat sauce and B-movie tropes? Let’s dig in (before it devours us).
This movie is truly a labor of love and leftovers
Behind every low-budget film lies a story of ambition, determination, and often sheer madness, and Inhumanwich! is no exception. The brainchild of writer-director David Cornelius, this 2016 sci-fi comedy was a passion project born from a love of B-movie absurdity and vintage creature features. Shot primarily in Cincinnati, Ohio, the film embraces its micro-budget roots with a tongue-in-cheek style that perfectly suits its premise: a space mission gone wrong turns a sloppy joe sandwich into a giant, man-eating monster.
And as it goes for low budget films (rumored to be under $10,000), the film features practical effects, cheesy green screen shots, and a charmingly retro aesthetic reminiscent of 1950s drive-in cinema. Many of the actors were local performers, and the production relied heavily on community support, making Inhumanwich! a testament to indie filmmaking ingenuity. Despite its humble origins, the movie gained a cult following for its witty script, deadpan humor, and sincere homage to the golden age of low-budget horror.
By leaning into its limitations and celebrating the spirit of DIY filmmaking, Inhumanwich! transformed what could have been a forgettable parody into a cult classic that’s as endearing as it is ridiculous.
The story begins with a mission in space and a room full of scientists on the verge of a scientific breakthrough! They are carefully monitoring the readings of a series of instruments aboard a one man space vessel as he ventures out where no man has embarked before! But all this is busy exhausting work and rightfully so astronauts should stay well fed to keep their brains and bodies on tip-top shape. Thankfully for our astronaut, his wife had packed him lunch for the trip, a delicious sloppy Joe sandwich, hold the onions. Just the way he likes it.
Just as all seems calm on the western front, disaster strikes before our brave hero can enjoy his lunch!
A radioactive storm engulfs the space ship making communication impossible and in all the confusion and silence, alone and further from any civilization than any man has ever been, the DNA of both the astronaut and the sloppy Joe are merged and a new creature is born, hungry for only one thing, destruction.
It’s now up to this duo of ragtag scientists and an astronauts wife to stop this monstrosity from destroying the planet as it grows larger with every bit of matter it consumes.
The movie goes on from there but I’d hate to spoil this masterpiece of leftovers by heating them up too soon so I’ll let you watch the rest to find out.
This movie is the funniest, most self-aware film ever made! And it really has it all, a murder mystery, a corny sci-fi monster, a love interest. Rotten Tomatoes may give it a 60% but I give it 100% and as a big fan of the everyday crapfest film, Inhumanwich! is no doubt the best in the category. They gave Deadpool a run for its money with the number of fourth-wall breaks and self aware jokes it makes at its own expense. Something I think that really sets the characters apart is how undeniably dry so much of the humor is that in a way makes it even funnier! And mixed with its lighthearted slapstick stunts it feels like I’m watching a new breed of Leslie Nielsen movie.
But none of that matters because I’m sure by now you’re probably wondering, “What sets this cheap sci-fi horror movie from the rest?”
Where do I even begin?! There’s no real horror involved with this movie at all, David Cornelius made this movie with the intention of it being bad. He rode on every sci-fi trope and threw the book in with the rest of it. The whole movie projects an idea that this movie was made with deeper meaning while presenting absolute no deeper meanings. There’s no artistic catch, or larger picture. It’s purely and undoubtably nothing greater than a movie that makes fun of cheap sci-fi movies while simultaneously committing to the sci-fi movie theme. In a way it feels like I’m watching this through the genuine imagination of a few kids playing.
If you were to show me this movie compared to a high school reproduction I probably couldn’t tell the two apart but that’s what makes this movie even better! If this movie got anything right it’s that it is made with love. It’s so well thought out and David Cornelius definitely poured his heart into it. It’s the type of masterpiece that comes once every thousands years and gets squandered before its creator can truly be appreciated and this is something I think David Cornelius understood and it’s this fact that I believe he was given the drive to commit to such an unrewarding project and for that I’d rate this movie a perfect 10/10 not for its quality but for everything else. It’s weird, it’s funny, and by golly people should give it a chance!
I got my digital copy on Prime Video but I also recommend checking out their website https://inhumanwich.com
I appreciate you reading through this. I love movies, especially niche movies, and I love talking about them. If you have any good suggestions let me know in the comments. Thank you so much for reading ❤️
ImpChimp Art 