By pick, by axe, by sword...by golly, I think we've got a winner! In 1985, there were a slew of movies that came out that would go on to become classics by today's standards. Some of these films include, but certainly are not limited to, "Back to the Future", "The Goonies", "Fright Night", "Re-Animator", and "The Breakfast Club" (<-- my personal all-time fave!). However, looking back, there is one "classic" that unfortunately got lost in the shuffle, and to this day remains little-seen and relatively unknown. This film, of course, is "The Mutilator". Hacking it's way into theaters for a very brief run, under it's original title of "Fall Break", this movie was a low budget wonder work chock full of some very disgusting and incredibly well-done splatter F/X that rival the best I've seen in films of this caliber. Let's begin with the plot...err, what little there is of it. The movie begins with a hilariously "acted" portrayal of a young boy accidentally blowing a hole through his mother's stomach whilst attempting to clean daddy's very big hunting rifle. Dad comes home, beats on the kid, kid runs away while daddy holds onto mommy's lifeless corpse. The end. Flash forward 15 years, and that little boy is now all grown up (& surprisingly well adjusted for having shot his mum) and ready to embark on a little road trip with 5 of his closest friends. But wait? Where will they go? Cue phone call from dad asking son to close up their beach house for the coming Winter. DING! Looks like a vacation destination has just been achieved. So the kids hop into the convertible and head to the shore amidst some stellar opening credits, complete with a totally rockin' original theme song entitled "Fall Break". Now trust me, if you know what's good for you, this is the point where you will pick up your remote and fast forward to the movie. Fast forward, or risk having this ditty stuck in your head for weeks to come. In fact, I am not ashamed to admit this song has found a comfy little spot on my ipod in recent weeks. I'm telling you, it's THAT GOOD! Anyway, the kids get to the beach house and low and behold, someone is already there, waiting eagerly for their arrival so that they can begin methodically slicing and dicing their way through the group. Usual fodder ensues - inane dialogue, cheesy acting, and an obligatory bad romance scene accompanied by retro elevator music. What makes this flick stand out though, is as previously mentioned, the wonderfully over the top gore! Sadistic and brutal in it's own right, it's a wonder this movie didn't get banned in multiple countries like many of it's predecessors. The deaths include a man getting chopped in half (& then his top half axing the leg right off a cop!), a little boy with a nasty slashed throat courtesy of a battle axe, a boy who takes a chainsaw to the chest, and a girl who gets a ginormous hook through her hoo ha and out her belly! Yep, you read that right. Sick stuff, folks. But if you're like me, then this is the only reason you're watching these flicks in the first place! It obviously ain't for the award winning acting or mind altering plot arcs. Buddy Cooper, the writer/director, sadly never went on to do anything else, save for some sound editing on a 1994 short. After witnessing this epic splatterpiece, you will be left scratching your head as to why. Code Red DVD had this on their list of upcoming releases, and even went so far as to finish all the extras for it, including a commentary with Mr. Cooper himself! Sadly, Code Red DVD will be going out of business in early 2011, making it highly unlikely that any of this will come to light. A shame to think that, much like the movie itself, the extras are now gonna fade into obscurity as well. Sigh. Perhaps someday, after I've made my millions, I will hunt down Mr. Cooper personally for commentary track part deux, and give this film it's just dessert! In the meantime, I'll continue to keep it's legacy alive through internet pollution such as that which you have just finished reading.
Final Rating: * * * * / * * * * *
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