The Mutations is set in in London during the early 70's where Bridget (Olga Anthony) goes to University, after a biology class taught by the ever so slightly mad Professor Nolter (Donald Pleasence) she decides to walk home on her own through a park. Bridget is followed & kidnapped by the horribly deformed Lynch (Tom Baker) who part owns & runs a travelling freak show in which he was once an exhibit, Lynch has a deal with Professor Nolter to supply him with fresh young specimens to experiment on in return for Nolter curing his horrible disfigurement. A group of Bridget's friends happen to pay a visit to Lynch's freak show attraction & spot Bridget's unique medallion around the neck of a dwarf named Burns (Michael Dunn) who is rather vague about where he got & since Bridget has been missing for days her friends put two & two together & decide to investigate further. They discover Professor Nolter's insane plan to create a part man part plant mutation & find out that his hideous failed experiments becomes part of the freak show...
Also known under the title The Freakmaker & apparently Dr. of Evil this British production was directed by Oscar (& another whole host of awards) winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff & is maybe the least likely credit on his CV which spans over seventy years! I am in two minds about The Mutations, on the one hand it's a sleazy little mad scientist monster film with added seediness although on the other hand it's rather dull at times & lacks focus or much of a story. The script should zip along but somehow manages to drag at times, I mean we have a horror film featuring mad scientists, grotesque failed experiments, plant creatures, bizarre medical experiments, a circus of freaks, kidnapped young ladies, murder, betrayal & a London prostitute who charges £2! Boy, those were the days, those were the days... I mean two bloody quid wouldn't buy you anything now but I digress. The Mutations should be more fun than it is, the story is weak & takes itself a bit too seriously with Professor Nolter's reasoning behind his apparently revolutionary experiments vague to say the least. Once he perfects his plant creature then what exactly? Surely that laser beam to reverse the state of decay would be more useful? I mean no food would then ever go off or go rotten again & could be kept indefinitely & solve the world's food shortage, right? There's no one central character to root for or get behind or follow the story through with either, Professor Nolter pops up occasionally & Lynch gets a bit of screen time & even has a touching moment when he visits a prostitute & ask's for something a little extra which she charges him an extra pound for! The freaks aren't shown as the tragic character's they are but as oddities to stare at while none of Bridget's friends really comes to the fore either as they all stay on the fringes of the action.
There is quite a bit of fascinating time lapse photography of plants growing, decaying & roots burrowing underground but it feels like it belongs in a nature documentary rather than a horror film. There are a few monsters with decent make-up effects including a gross Venus Fly Trap man who digests Professor Nolter at the end. The early 70's London locations are surprisingly drab, the fashions are a bit dated & you definitely couldn't have sex with a prostitute for £2 any more but The Mutations does have a rather sleazy atmosphere. Real freaks were used in the carnival scene apparently, from the bearded lady to the human pin cushion & from the Alligator woman & Frog boy to a guy who can pop his eyeballs out of their sockets.
Filmed in London the production values are decent enough, surprisingly for such an esteemed cinematographer Cardiff makes a fairly dull looking film although there one or two moments. The acting is alright, Pleasence looks bored & unconvinced by the script, soon to be Doctor Who Tom Baker is almost unrecognisable under layers of latex make-up while most of the young female cast get naked at one point or another.
The Mutations is an oddity of a film really, from sideshow curiosity to mad scientist horror to 70's sleaze it never quite decides what it wants to be & suffers because of it but there's enough to keep you from being bored & I liked it overall even if it could have been even better.
Also known under the title The Freakmaker & apparently Dr. of Evil this British production was directed by Oscar (& another whole host of awards) winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff & is maybe the least likely credit on his CV which spans over seventy years! I am in two minds about The Mutations, on the one hand it's a sleazy little mad scientist monster film with added seediness although on the other hand it's rather dull at times & lacks focus or much of a story. The script should zip along but somehow manages to drag at times, I mean we have a horror film featuring mad scientists, grotesque failed experiments, plant creatures, bizarre medical experiments, a circus of freaks, kidnapped young ladies, murder, betrayal & a London prostitute who charges £2! Boy, those were the days, those were the days... I mean two bloody quid wouldn't buy you anything now but I digress. The Mutations should be more fun than it is, the story is weak & takes itself a bit too seriously with Professor Nolter's reasoning behind his apparently revolutionary experiments vague to say the least. Once he perfects his plant creature then what exactly? Surely that laser beam to reverse the state of decay would be more useful? I mean no food would then ever go off or go rotten again & could be kept indefinitely & solve the world's food shortage, right? There's no one central character to root for or get behind or follow the story through with either, Professor Nolter pops up occasionally & Lynch gets a bit of screen time & even has a touching moment when he visits a prostitute & ask's for something a little extra which she charges him an extra pound for! The freaks aren't shown as the tragic character's they are but as oddities to stare at while none of Bridget's friends really comes to the fore either as they all stay on the fringes of the action.
There is quite a bit of fascinating time lapse photography of plants growing, decaying & roots burrowing underground but it feels like it belongs in a nature documentary rather than a horror film. There are a few monsters with decent make-up effects including a gross Venus Fly Trap man who digests Professor Nolter at the end. The early 70's London locations are surprisingly drab, the fashions are a bit dated & you definitely couldn't have sex with a prostitute for £2 any more but The Mutations does have a rather sleazy atmosphere. Real freaks were used in the carnival scene apparently, from the bearded lady to the human pin cushion & from the Alligator woman & Frog boy to a guy who can pop his eyeballs out of their sockets.
Filmed in London the production values are decent enough, surprisingly for such an esteemed cinematographer Cardiff makes a fairly dull looking film although there one or two moments. The acting is alright, Pleasence looks bored & unconvinced by the script, soon to be Doctor Who Tom Baker is almost unrecognisable under layers of latex make-up while most of the young female cast get naked at one point or another.
The Mutations is an oddity of a film really, from sideshow curiosity to mad scientist horror to 70's sleaze it never quite decides what it wants to be & suffers because of it but there's enough to keep you from being bored & I liked it overall even if it could have been even better.