"Mutant" (aka Night Shadows) is an underrated little Zombie flick from the 80s. It's about two brothers who are cruising the highway on a getaway vacation and wind up in a town that seems to be missing it's citizens.
Josh Cameron (Wings Hauser) and his younger brother Mike (Lee Montgomery) are driving down an isolated highway when they are run off the road by a group of red necks led by the brutal Albert Hogue (Marc Clement). They hitch a rise to the nearest town to get help but are stymied when they discover that the nearest garage is closed.
In the local bar, they again encounter Hogue and his red necks and a fight breaks out. Sheriff Will Stewart (Bo Hopkins) breaks it up. Mike is cut during the fracas so Stewart takes him to Dr. Myra Tate (Jennifer Warren) for repairs. Mike earlier had discovered a body in an alley way that has disappeared unexpectedly leaving a mysterious substance behind. Stewart takes a sample of the substance to Dr. Tate for analysis .
Unable to get help for their car, Stewart takes the brothers to a rooming house run by the kindly Mrs. Mapes (Mary Nell Sandacroce) for the night. Given separate rooms, Josh awakes the next morning to find that Mike has suddenly disappeared.
Searching for Mike, Josh meets Holly Pierce (Jody Medford) running the bar from the previous night because the owner has suddenly taken ill. She also happens to be a school teacher. Young Billy (Cary Guffey) is a lone student in the classroom. He explains that he has lost his parents. Holly's uncle meanwhile who was bed ridden suddenly turns into a zombie like monster and escapes into the city.
Josh returns to the rooming house and finds Mike murdered in the basement of the house. He is attacked by a Zombie but manages to escape. Dr. Tate discovers that the mysterious substance brought to her by Stewart is some sort of toxic waste that somehow has been absorbed by the townsfolk turning them into Zombies.
Josh and Holly go to a isolated plant and learn that the toxic substance emanates from there. They just manage to escape from the workers and return to town. Dr. Tate is attacked by her assistant who has become one of the infected and kills her. Back at the school Josh discovers the body of a student. Hogue who continues to pop up accuses Josh of the murder. In a chilling moment, young Billy is attacked by a group of zombie children and dis dragged away.
Sheriff Stewart discovers Dr. Tate and is devastated. Later Josh and Holly arrive at the clinic and find Dr. Tate and Stewart's hat and gun. Running for their lives, they hole up in the gas station. Seemingly they are the only two normal people left. Building Molotov cocktails, they try to defend themselves until Hogue again turns up and.........................................................................
A lot better than the low rating given by IMDb reviewers.
Josh Cameron (Wings Hauser) and his younger brother Mike (Lee Montgomery) are driving down an isolated highway when they are run off the road by a group of red necks led by the brutal Albert Hogue (Marc Clement). They hitch a rise to the nearest town to get help but are stymied when they discover that the nearest garage is closed.
In the local bar, they again encounter Hogue and his red necks and a fight breaks out. Sheriff Will Stewart (Bo Hopkins) breaks it up. Mike is cut during the fracas so Stewart takes him to Dr. Myra Tate (Jennifer Warren) for repairs. Mike earlier had discovered a body in an alley way that has disappeared unexpectedly leaving a mysterious substance behind. Stewart takes a sample of the substance to Dr. Tate for analysis .
Unable to get help for their car, Stewart takes the brothers to a rooming house run by the kindly Mrs. Mapes (Mary Nell Sandacroce) for the night. Given separate rooms, Josh awakes the next morning to find that Mike has suddenly disappeared.
Searching for Mike, Josh meets Holly Pierce (Jody Medford) running the bar from the previous night because the owner has suddenly taken ill. She also happens to be a school teacher. Young Billy (Cary Guffey) is a lone student in the classroom. He explains that he has lost his parents. Holly's uncle meanwhile who was bed ridden suddenly turns into a zombie like monster and escapes into the city.
Josh returns to the rooming house and finds Mike murdered in the basement of the house. He is attacked by a Zombie but manages to escape. Dr. Tate discovers that the mysterious substance brought to her by Stewart is some sort of toxic waste that somehow has been absorbed by the townsfolk turning them into Zombies.
Josh and Holly go to a isolated plant and learn that the toxic substance emanates from there. They just manage to escape from the workers and return to town. Dr. Tate is attacked by her assistant who has become one of the infected and kills her. Back at the school Josh discovers the body of a student. Hogue who continues to pop up accuses Josh of the murder. In a chilling moment, young Billy is attacked by a group of zombie children and dis dragged away.
Sheriff Stewart discovers Dr. Tate and is devastated. Later Josh and Holly arrive at the clinic and find Dr. Tate and Stewart's hat and gun. Running for their lives, they hole up in the gas station. Seemingly they are the only two normal people left. Building Molotov cocktails, they try to defend themselves until Hogue again turns up and.........................................................................
A lot better than the low rating given by IMDb reviewers.