MUTILATOR 2

**

Directed by Buddy Cooper.

Starring Terry Kiser, Eva Hamilton, Damian Maffei, Anna Clary, Dan Grogan, Ruth Martinez, Bill Hitchcock, Carl J Grasso, Cody Renee Cameron.

Horror, USA, 81 mins, Cert 18 TBC

Reviewed as part of Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2024

Within the supplements of Arrow Video’s characteristically stacked Blu-ray release of THE MUTILATOR a few years back, director Buddy Cooper offered warm recollections of the low-budget shoot. He also explained how the movie was the result of a decision whether to spend $86,000 on a feature film or a vineyard in France. There were no obvious signs of regret that he opted for the former. 

Premiering in January 1984 under the title FALL BREAK (with matching, ridiculously catchy theme song), it arrived at the point where the post-HALLOWEEN slasher cycle had run out of steam, though proved to be one of the most enjoyably nasty offerings. Like some of its stablemates, it anticipated SCREAM’s deconstruction of subgenre codes and conventions by over a decade (“Virgins, huh? At least we’re all safe!”) while showcasing rousing gore FX by Mark Shostrom. It also amusingly took the “indestructible killer” trope to its absurd zenith: the cackling psycho continues hacking off limbs even after being bisected!

For assorted life-gets-in-the-way reasons, Cooper hasn’t made a feature since THE MUTILATOR but that film’s enduring cult following has finally sparked this reunion with several original cast and crew members, including co-writers John Douglass and Edmund Ferrell, alongside actors Ruth Martinez, Bill Hitchcock and Matt Mitler. Terry Kiser, best known as the corpse in WEEKEND AT BERNIES but also butchered by Jason Voorhees in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD, amusingly portrays a character named Jack Chatham, the actor who played the maniacal Big Ed in the first film. 

The premise is substantially more self-reflexive than its predecessor, though it’s as much in the spirit of 1980s dabbles with post modernism like BOOGEYMAN II (1983) and RETURN TO HORROR HIGH (1986) as it is the SCREAM era. It opens knowingly, in this remake-saturated era, with a recreation of a key kill from the original film, interrupted by a tyrannical director’s cell phone going off. Yes, we’re on the North Carolina set of a MUTILATOR sequel-cum-remake. Juddery drone shots establish the pretty coastal location – the kind of visual that would have entailed a very expensive crane shot in 1983 – while a character wearing a Scotch Video T-shirt reminds us of the age of the filmmakers (and ourselves, depressingly). 

Bringing the MUTILATOR world into the 21st century is an amusingly horrible Carl J. Grasso as a sleazebag producer who, after sexually harassing prop girl Cody Renee Cameron winds up with a fake severed head stuck to his dick. (It’s no less subtle than the Dennis Quaid character named “Harvey” in THE SUBSTANCE). This joke, which lasts for most of the film, sets the tone along with an early kazoo duet. A further modern touch is a live cast from a “Gore Times” editor, enthusing about the original and Buddy Cooper’s “old-school style” while, in the spirit of 40 year old Fangoria letters-to-the-editor, complaining about the MPAA cuts neutering that film’s gore on original release. Cooper himself shows up in a self-conscious cameo as himself, an executive producer on the film-within-the-film.

It's scrappy and awkwardly paced, with some jokes working better than others: a typical gag has a character commenting on THE MUTILATOR’s pitchfork kill en route to expiring in a similar fashion. Party guests arrive dressed as Jason, Michael Myers, Ghostface and Art the Clown to acknowledge different eras of slasher cinema, while Kiser, hamming up the smarm and scowling shiftiness, seems to be having the most fun. There’s no real suspense (or surprises) and the abrupt ending suggests they simply ran out of money and / or ideas.

Nonetheless, if you harbour nostalgia for the original American stalk ‘n’ slash heyday, there’s still plenty to enjoy. For those seeking titillation after six SCREAM films with no gratuitous nudity, be advised that Cooper managed to persuade a bunch of attractive young women to take off their tops. If the kills aren’t on the same level as Savini (or Shostrom), they’re still gloriously old-school and, in the tradition of several vintage slashers, Cooper saves the best for the second half. A key mode of execution in the original is resurrected and there’s some splendidly gruesome bits of business involving fish hooks and flesh-ripping. 

Steven West