Mutations

This film is a definite cult-classic and a follow up to Tod Brownings FREAKS. Perhaps a bit poorly made, but with real freaks like the Alligator Woman, Pop Eye and many more. Julie Ege, Norwegian scream queen, is starring and making the best of it. If you ever want to see the definite B-film from British cinema during the Seventies: This is the one to see. The film takes place at a travelling carnival which also features a freak show. Donald Pleasance is the mad professor who mutates plants with humans and then puts them on display. The results are horrific and so are the monsters that looks like a mixture of broccoli and humans. The film is odd to say the least and the actors try very hard to make it believable. This is a film with a strange mixture of science, horror and drama. It moves along a bit slow, but you won't be bored. The last of the real "freak films".

Not really enough money or effort put into this one. It appears that everyone thought simply that the presence of various 'freaks' Donald Pleasence, a bit of nudity and some man eating plants should see them through.

Actually this almost works, unfortunately Mr Pleasence is in particularly one note form and although the speeded up photography for the plants is fine the later costumes for those that have turned into half human, half plant are not half as effective. There are some decent moments and good ideas but it is all so uphill. Undeniably quirky, though and probably worth it for the fairground scenes.

OK i seen the mutations when i was younger at a movie theater in;Paterson new jersey and to this day i cant remember the co-feature. but it scared the hell out of me.its a basic mad scientist story,with a brilliant but unbalanced Dr played by the late great;Donald Pleasence who went on to play Dr loomis in the Halloween movie series(1978 to 1989)creating mutations from plants.i know very weird.it all takes place in england,much to the distaste of fellow scientist from America played by Brad Harris.he gets his subjects from a deformed man played by;Tom Baker(who played Dr who in the 70's)this guy is so gruesome he would give Frankensteins monster the willies.anyway lynch(tom baker)is co-owner of a traveling carnival.the main owner is a kindly dwarf played by Micheal Dunn,who does'nt approve of the Dr's intentions.and like the earlier movie;freaks this movie features real human oddities. the one that gave me nightmares was a guy called pop eye,i don't need to say what he does.also starring in this movie is Julie Ege and Jill Haworth.the mutations has been released to video under the title;the freak-maker.its not as good as Tod brownings freaks,but it is very unsettling.i re watched this recently and found it very entertaining but it no longer gives me nightmares.all i can say is its still a very good film,with a great cast.and Donald Pleasence played the best mad doctors.I'm giving mutations(aka;freak-maker)8 out of 10.

Ignore the uptight weirdo who spends 10,000 words bashing this movie. It's very enjoyable as long as you're a fan of the genre. With many gratuitous LSD references and a real live carnival freak show, how can you go wrong?

If you thought Swamp Thing was too intellectual and The Fly was just too gross, this movie might definitely be for you. One of many human-cross-animal or plant movies, what causes this one to stand out is the overall creepiness of Donald Pleasance and, basically, the entire plot (what you can make of it).

Time-lapse photography inserted for no particular reason just adds to the fun.

The people who made this movie must have had a blast and so will you as long as you're not some amateur wannabe film critic. Sheesh!

This is a totally bizarre British horror film which deserves cult status of the highest order - I can't believe that this didn't have problems with the censor, it is a disturbing, nasty piece of work and should undoubtedly have cult status.

'The Mutations' has Donald Pleasence as a Frankenstein-inspired scientist, Prof Nolter, who in-between his lecturing is trying to fuse humans with plantlife, to create a creature which has the strengths of both species. The nature of the film is introduced early, with a travelling funfair complete with freaks ( played by real-life freaks as in Tod Brownings early classic ), and a hideously ugly normal-sized man, who moonlights as Prof Nolter's assistant.

The film has so many points of interest its difficult to know where to start - the similarities to 'Freaks' are acknowledged with a feast scene which includes the line "He's one of us - we accept you". The freaks are also shown to have more humanity than the other characters, although they do turn on their tormenter in the end, in a scene similar to the climactic chase in 'Freaks'.

There are also ideas and scenes close to the French classic 'Eyes without a Face'; Pleasance portrays a character similar to Pierre Brasseur's mad doctor, both living in a secluded mansion complete with pack of mad dogs.

As if all this were not enough, we are also treated to Julie Ege as the screaming heroine, showing of her acting limitations and bodily curves very nicely - special applause for the nude bath scene.

'The Mutations' is a real shocker, which viewed today has a strong impact - far more so than more famous 'shocking' films, like 'The Devils' and the earlier 'Peeping Tom', both of which viewed now seem relatively tame.

While not raising the film to any artistic height - it is a cheap 'B' Movie in all production areas - the film should really be seen by all film fans, and given its deserved status as a heavyweight of the gutter-horror genre.