Gore Galore: ‘The Mutilator’ Blu-ray Review – A Crimson Splattered ‘80s Slasher Gem!
It’s quite shocking to comprehend the sheer volume of slasher movies that emerged in the ‘80s. I mean, the end of the ‘70s were building, but when Friday the 13th arrived, it was a monster that spawned a multitude of clones. Believe it or not, only the tip of the iceberg is known well. Some faded into obscurity. Others were delayed in getting released, thus losing any edge they might have had. Satan’s Blade comes to mind as it was filmed in 1980, but due to producers delaying then insisting on reshoots and additions, limply put out in 1984.
An old review pointed out that the true star of The Mutilator isn’t the actors or the script — it’s the effects. Everything else is cookie cutter and basic yet so much fun. What is different in this flick is the killer’s identity. There’s no mask, out of shot figure, or a hand in view. We know exactly who he is because he’s shown hiding early on. This is Columbo territory, not an Argento world here. It’s refreshing and comical in an illogical way.
Back in the day, the VHS tape would have sat leering at so many renters promising thrills chills and gore. The Mutilator delivers the gore, that is without question, courtesy of Mark (A Nightmare on Elm Street 1,2, & 3, From Beyond, Evil Dead II) Shostrom and Anthony (Chopping Mall, Savage Dawn) Showe. This is effects royalty right here.
My Partner in Gore, Willow, and I, had a pocket full of CEX (a massive company who deal in second hand goods, they are huge in the UK and a few other countries, but closed their chain in the USA a while back) vouchers to spend the other day. We noticed a lot of old school movies on 88 Films and Arrow Films had arrived on the Blu-ray section. Willow smiled and said, “Let’s get some slashers!” Aside from replacing two I’d lost many years ago (Madman and Stagefright) we figured we’d grab loads neither of us had seen before. The Mutilator was one of seven.
The intro is brilliant. Little Ed Junior is cleaning his father’s guns as a birthday treat for when he gets home from work but accidentally shoots his mother. Dad isn’t very impressed by his surprise, as you can imagine, a cold stare from his eyes and he sits drinking beside the corpse. Years later, Ed Junior is a college student, having been ignored by his father for a long time he receives a call just as he and his buddies are trying to figure out what to do for a holiday. They learn that his father wants him to shut down a beach condo he owns. Ed Junior is reluctant, but they talk him into it. He smiles and does a Star Wars quote.
They all head off for Fall Break (the movie’s original title) and we have a bit of jolly comedy and hijinks, including a toe-curling cringe scene in a store with a couple of people who look like they just don’t want to be there, then we arrive at the condo. “…Swimming and a surfing in our birthday clothes… yeah… we’re gonna have a good time….” chirps the rather catchy finger clicking song over the credits, with saxophone and piano bouncing along.
There are empty beer bottles piled up. A rusty vile fridge and his father’s battle axe is missing (his dad, Big Ed, collects hunting trophies and weapons). They’re momentarily worried but shrug it off as Ed Junior says Big Ed’s buddies would have recently been around. However, nearby in a huge shed, Big Ed is sleeping, cuddling his battle axe. Yep, he’s going to be our killer for the day! A reveal of Ed’s state of mind is the fact he kept a photo framed of a guy he accidentally run over with his boat.
Now I need to point out the cast of students here. Only two are near likeable or bearable. Ralph is the joker of the pack and can be funny sometimes, and Sue, there’s something about her, she’s not outstanding but kind of inoffensive. Ralph and Sue are a couple, they made us laugh out loud a few times. The rest of ‘em, oh my god! Put it like this, the men have similar faces that you want to punch till they push into putty, especially Mike, played by Morey Lampley who didn’t have a career afterwards, in fact most of them didn’t. Morley has the body of a slasher victim jock, muscles, hairstyle, and attitude but his acting (???!!!) was genuinely ruining my personal entertainment of this movie! He’s the second victim and the film picks up after that moment.
The couples split up for attempted character building, sex, and whittling down of the cast. Mike and Linda are the first to go, nastily. Mike’s over dramatic death has to be seen to be disbelieved. He tops Marlon Brando for over-the-top any day. Ed is hanging them up like trophies, his expression seldom changes. This guy is great. Speaking of expressions, the cast pull some wonderful faces throughout whilst talking or over acting (I’ve selected a few examples below).
The small cast slowly dwindles away, including a fast dispatched cop. This murder has a great idea, if your severed head looks fake, use it in mainly shadows. I wish all low budget films did that. “Let’s play blind man’s buff” suggests Ralph after they’ve spent a while searching for their missing friends. Good idea.
Big Ed is a relentless beast. He kills without thought, mercilessly. For a change, for this genre of the ‘80s, the men receive far more brutal and violent deaths — apart from poor Sue though. Director, Buddy Cooper, concentrates wisely on the effects and locations more than any nudity or such (not much of that kind of thing) but I don’t dig the decision to include a couple of outtakes in the end credits and they come on immediately. Willow was rather annoyed as it ruined the atmosphere.
Either way, The Mutilator is a splatter epic that has everything required for a switch your brain off thrill ride into ‘80s horror. The musical score is a bit demented with comedy songs then some truly nightmarish sounds as Ed prowls around the place. Brilliant.
Like I said before, most of the cast didn’t quite make it much further in the world of film. This was the only one for a few. Bill Hitchcock who played Ralph returned for the sequel, which plays like the first was only a movie, but returning to the location nearly forty years later brings bad vibes. The trailer looks great. Director Bill Cooper unfortunately didn’t have a marvellous career in films either, but he was a lawyer anyway so probably did okay for himself (his son has a role as young Ed Junior, by the way).
Arrow Films, as usual, have given more care and attention to this film than it deserved. They have red carpeted The Mutilator with the artwork, quality of presentation, and the extras. ‘Fall Breakers’ is almost as long as the movie. It’s a truly magnificent documentary that catches up with the cast and crew, revealing lots of goodies. On Mark Showsrom’s 15-minute piece, ‘Mutilator Memories,’ where he explains a few of the techniques used, he says it was the best experience he’s had in his thirty-five years of FX making career. All this and more, plus a nice booklet for the Blu-ray/DVD combo.
The gore is lush. Even the dream sequence is a neat shocker. If you want a crimson splattered entertaining gem, The Mutilator is definitely the right movie. Most women viewers will wince at a certain scene (Willow did) which is a nice return favour to the number of horrors over the years that have penis chopping moments. Hehehe, wait for the quick daylight to nighttime switch within a few seconds as well. What more do you want?
AKA: Fall Break, O Mutilador, Le Mutilateur, El mutilador
Directed by: Buddy Cooper
Written by: Buddy Cooper
Produced by: Buddy Cooper, Neil Whitford
Cinematography by: Peter Schnall
Edited by: Stephen Mack
Music by: Michael Minard
Special Effects by: Mark Shostrom, Anthony Showe
Cast: Matt Mitler, Bill Hitchcock, Ruth Martinez, Connie Rogers, Jack Chatham, Morley Lampley, Frances Sherman, Trace Cooper, Ben Moore
Year: 1984
Country: USA
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 26min
Distributor: Arrow Films
BLU-RAY SPECS:
Video: 1.85:1 MPEG-4 AVC 1080p
Audio: English, LPCM Mono
Region: Blu-ray ALL / DVD PAL REGION 0
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL:
– Fall Breakers 1hr 15 min documentary
– Optional Introduction
– Audio commentaries
– Mutilator Memories: Mark Showstrom looks back
– Tunes for the Dunes
– Behind the scenes
– Screen tests
– Trailers
