‘The search for a cure created a monster’
The Mutation is a 2021 sci-fi horror film about a mutated giant rat that has been let loose in an American city.
Written, produced and directed by Scott Jeffrey (Cannibal Troll; Bad Nun: Deadly Vows; Don’t Speak; Cupid; ClownDoll).
The movie stars Sarah T. Cohen (HellKat; Cupid; Witches of Amityville Academy), Megan Purvis (Rise of the Mummy; The Young Cannibals; Th’dread Rattlin’), Abi Casson Thompson (HellKat; Rise of the Mummy; The Candy Witch) and Derek Nelson (A Werewolf in England; Pandamonium; Vampire Virus).
Our review:
The Mutation has a well-worn plot about a mad scientist creating a monster that then goes on a rampage. It’s nothing new and there is reasonable fun to be had it not been severely hampered by a massive audio handicap.
The film’s painfully obvious Brits-as-Yanks set-up will sit uncomfortably with both UK and US audiences (a practice that runs as far back as Slaughter High in 1986). The shameless fakery is laughable and insulting to all concerned but especially the cast who have to deliver their dialogue with a faux Transatlantic drawl.
There are plenty of well-lit atmospheric scenes but the bland direction consists of basic coverage shots that emphasise the shoot-fast-let’s-go approach to this production. Editing is perfunctory at best. Towards the end, there’s an enjoyably gory attack scene in a restaurant but it’s not enough to save the film as a whole.
Despite an amusingly awful giant CGI rat at the climax – which, inexplicably, isn’t hairy like its human-sized version – anyone watching this overly hairy rat turd of a movie will probably be disappointed.
Ade Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
Other reviews:
“For most of The Mutation, the killer creature is a man in a costume looking like the rabbit from Donnie Darko after a $50 rock of crack. It jumps on people and flops all over them. This will be the first and last element of the film many viewers will notice. However, more adept B-movie watchers will see how Jeffrey obeys the golden rule of successful trash cinema: don’t play anything for laughs.” Film Threat
“The Mutation gives the impression of having a bigger budget than Jeffrey usually gets to play with, the extra monies seemingly going in the direction of practical gore effects and a decent fight choreographer […] While there are a few dull stretches and flat performances, overall The Mutation is a blood-splattered step in the right direction for Jeffrey…” Gavcrimson
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