A great thing about "B" sci-fi horror in the 1980s? Wings Hauser. Two other great things are the presence of 60s muscle cars and low budget monsters. MUTANT has all three. Some appear more briefly than others.
After a run in with some good ole boys in a pick up truck, Josh (Hauser) and Mike (Lee Montgomery ) find themselves stranded. That is, until they get picked up by the talkative Mel, who tells them how dangerous it is to be out on the roads after dark because of the perverts and Martians. Then he drops them off to make the walk into town. The whole thing feels a little "American Werewolf in London" at this point, except it's the city boys in the backwoods. Of course the small town they find is full of unfriendly locals, a washed up, hard drinking sheriff (Bo Hopkins) and some kind of creatures on a rampage.
One great thing about this movie is that the bodies start piling up right away. Twelve minutes or so in and you've already got your second "zombie" attack. They slow down for awhile after that , but like all of these movies, during the last third things pick up again.
Because Mike is hurt during a bar brawl, he and Josh are forced to spend the night in town, even though the Sheriff wants them gone. He doesn't trust them after they report a dead body they can no longer seem to find. So, there's your set up: Two city boys in a small town, with a drunk Sheriff who doesn't like them and monsters running around, become caught up in a mystery.
The movie has some good atmosphere. Night scenes full of shadows and fog, old buildings, cramped basements and eccentric, if not original, characters help set the mood. One particular scene uses a labyrinth like school to good effect.
The cinematography uses some very wide shots of empty streets and open spaces to help portray a feeling of isolation. The mystery and isolation grow when Mike goes missing and Josh is left alone to look for him. He is further trapped because everyone in town seems to be coming down with something, including the local mechanic.
Most of the major players give solid performances and the rest of the cast play their cookie cutter small town characters just fine. The story unfolds at a good pace with the "mystery" slowly building and people disappearing for apparently no reason. Short action sequences are dispersed throughout. (Some very short, like running to investigate a noise.)
Some attempts at character development are made, but most of them come across as familiar archetypes. Still, there is just enough depth given to our main heroes and leading ladies that we care what happens to them when the blood drinking hordes descend upon the town.
The make-up effects are passable, but by today's standards, very basic. At it's heart this is a toxic zombie movie, so don't expect a gigantic rubber monster type of Mutant rampaging around. Instead, expect corpse like groups cornering characters with poor decision making skills.
Don't expect a really strong scientific explanation for the creatures either. Toxic waste in the 1980s was to movie mutants what radioactivity was to giant insects and animals in the 1950s.
This is a good one for a snowed in afternoon (that's how I'm watching it now) or a rainy Saturday night. Watch it in the dark with some popcorn and pizza and you're sure to have a good time.
Watch it at the HFP Free Cinema, courtesy of BcinemaTV.
After a run in with some good ole boys in a pick up truck, Josh (Hauser) and Mike (Lee Montgomery ) find themselves stranded. That is, until they get picked up by the talkative Mel, who tells them how dangerous it is to be out on the roads after dark because of the perverts and Martians. Then he drops them off to make the walk into town. The whole thing feels a little "American Werewolf in London" at this point, except it's the city boys in the backwoods. Of course the small town they find is full of unfriendly locals, a washed up, hard drinking sheriff (Bo Hopkins) and some kind of creatures on a rampage.
Because Mike is hurt during a bar brawl, he and Josh are forced to spend the night in town, even though the Sheriff wants them gone. He doesn't trust them after they report a dead body they can no longer seem to find. So, there's your set up: Two city boys in a small town, with a drunk Sheriff who doesn't like them and monsters running around, become caught up in a mystery.
The movie has some good atmosphere. Night scenes full of shadows and fog, old buildings, cramped basements and eccentric, if not original, characters help set the mood. One particular scene uses a labyrinth like school to good effect.
The cinematography uses some very wide shots of empty streets and open spaces to help portray a feeling of isolation. The mystery and isolation grow when Mike goes missing and Josh is left alone to look for him. He is further trapped because everyone in town seems to be coming down with something, including the local mechanic.
Most of the major players give solid performances and the rest of the cast play their cookie cutter small town characters just fine. The story unfolds at a good pace with the "mystery" slowly building and people disappearing for apparently no reason. Short action sequences are dispersed throughout. (Some very short, like running to investigate a noise.)
Some attempts at character development are made, but most of them come across as familiar archetypes. Still, there is just enough depth given to our main heroes and leading ladies that we care what happens to them when the blood drinking hordes descend upon the town.
The make-up effects are passable, but by today's standards, very basic. At it's heart this is a toxic zombie movie, so don't expect a gigantic rubber monster type of Mutant rampaging around. Instead, expect corpse like groups cornering characters with poor decision making skills.
Don't expect a really strong scientific explanation for the creatures either. Toxic waste in the 1980s was to movie mutants what radioactivity was to giant insects and animals in the 1950s.
This is a good one for a snowed in afternoon (that's how I'm watching it now) or a rainy Saturday night. Watch it in the dark with some popcorn and pizza and you're sure to have a good time.
Watch it at the HFP Free Cinema, courtesy of BcinemaTV.
