Mutilator

This film is many in a line of trash horror films. When I first read the back of the video box I laughed, six teenagers going on their summer vacation. Cliche? If you are a fan of rubbish horror films then you'll love this, the acting is so bad it's good. The characters begin to get on your nerves eventually with their pole up their backside style acting, and you begin to wish for them to get killed, which in turn makes the film even better as you egg on the killer, "go on ram a knife through his all American face...go on...go on...YES!!!" If you watch this film expecting Oscar winning performances then you'll be sorely disappointed, having said that, if you watch this for any kind of performance whatsoever you'll be disappointed. The violence is over the top and it's great. It's the only saving grace of the film. However, all this aside, if you don't expect too much, then you'll be rewarded.

A man goes psychotic as a result of an event that occurred a decade earlier, where his son accidentally killed his wife when cleaning a gun. The boy, now a teenager, is invited by his dad to take a break with his friends at his father's seashore house. Once there, the homicidal dad starts picking them off.

You would have to say that The Mutilator is a pretty run-of-the-mill mid-80's slasher film. Like most, it has almost no story and the narrative is merely a means of linking one gory murder after another. But it does seem to me like this is one of the slightly better examples of the genre from that time in that the carnage is quite varied and it doesn't really drag too much. It knows what it is and just sticks to genre conventions but does so with enough over-the-top violence to ensure it never gets boring. There are several memorable death scenes sprinkled throughout and overall it's passably good stupid fun.

For a tiny budgeted little movie, the effects work is fantastic even when the thin script can make you scratch your head and twiddle your thumbs. Some of the actors are decent, but some are downright laughable. The killer isn't very imposing to look at, but he does some serious damage and there's a catchy theme song. The Mutilator might be middle of the road as slashers go, but there are fast worse ones out there and the effects give it that little extra bit of pizazz to give it a solid cult following.

A young man named Ed (Matt Mitler) takes a group of friends to his dad's beach condo for the weekend, resulting in blood-drenched mutilation, decapitation, and death by pitchfork. One skinny-dipping couple meets up with the business end of an outboard motor! Not even the local police are safe!

Although the victims are basic slasher fodder, THE MUTILATOR (aka: FALL BREAK) has a unique twist to it, in that we know who the killer is from the beginning. We even know why these people are being killed. Despite this, it's fairly effective, and shows how a little bitterness can go a long way...

A young boy accidentally kills his mother while playing with his father's gun. Distraught, his father has a break from reality and, years later, the young man takes his college buddies to his family's beach house for a little fall break fun and his father shows up, still angry at what his son did, so he decides to punish him and his friends by going on a bloody rampage.

You have to put together a lot of pieces yourself as you watch The Mutilator. Where has this nutty father been all this time? Why did he pick now to go on a killing spree? This movie isn't one for nuanced character development and deep psychological insight, but the murder scenes are a gory delight and a few scenes crackle with some suspense.