Mutant Species

If you're in search for a couple of laughs, with supposedly dead-serious sequences you aren't supposed to laugh with, I can warmly recommend "Bio-Force 1". However, if you want to burst out with hysterical laughter, I do insist also checking out the trivia-section here on IMDb afterwards. There it is stated director David A. Prior originally wanted to cast Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michael Ironside, Dee Wallace-Stone and Bill Duke for this film. Well, sure... Personally, I want to have a baby with Scarlett Johansson, but I'm pretty sure I don't have the money, nor the talent, nor the competences, and nor the Hollywood status to attract her attention. Maybe, just maybe, the reasoning is similar for you, David... Truly sorry!

But don't let the absence of the aforementioned stars ruin the fun for you! First of all, there are replacement stars, albeit admittedly not of the Schwarzenegger-caliber. We have Wilford Brimley, but I think he flew in from a beach holiday in the Bahamas just to cash his paycheck, because he wears a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses even though he's supposed to be an army general. And Powers Booth, but I guess he starred for free because he gets a kick out of depicting the most cold and heartless villains imaginable.

The plot is vintage Prior, meaning dumb but amusing. The US-military created a biohazardous weapon so deadly and unpredictable they allegedly decide to shoot it to the moon. Instead, though, super-mean army dude Frost deliberately lets it crash in a backwoods area and sends a bunch of soldiers after it to test how the effects. The further the plot unfolds, the dumber the situations and dialogs become. Also typical for Prior-screenplays is explicit but un-shocking violence, shamelessly stolen elements from other (better...) blockbusters, and a too-ridiculous-for-words finale. Thank you, David A. Prior, and rest in peace.

A team of American soldiers parachute into what is supposed to be hostile, foreign territory in order to retrieve a container full of biohazardous material. Not-too surprisingly, their mission is quickly complicated by unforeseen circumstances.

When the container is located and found to be damaged, the Commanding Officer is affected by the contents resulting in horror and death.

MUTANT SPECIES is a sci-fi / thriller featuring a government conspiracy, a military cover-up, and a mutating monster on a rampage. It's chock full of oozing, spurting, gushy goodness!

Co-stars Wilford Brimley as an oblivious General, and Powers Boothe as a nefarious government type. Also, watch for Denise Crosby as a helpful country woman!...

What bothers me about this low budget trash is that when I go to the local video store it is filled with these great appearing (from the cover) videos. Most of these are movies that no one has ever heard of. Most of them will have a cameo role of some reasonably big star and have him or her the star of the movie. They all look like a "TV movie" with a few swear words thrown in the get an R rating to make you think that this is a "real" movie. Usually about 10 minutes into the movie I realize that I got taken again. My advise is that if you never heard of it, don't rent it or first check here to get some reviews.

It's David A. Prior (the king of good-bad movies) doing his best "Predator" impression on a shoe string budget. Denise Crosby, Wildred Brimley and Powers Boothe have supporting roles. It's serviceable and a bit goofy with decent creature effects.

Yep, MUTANT SPECIES was one of those "so ludicrous it's funny" type thrillers. For one, the rubber-costumed monster with phony foam latex make-up is ravenously laughable! Even more hysterical is having Leo Rossi (known for his "wise guy" type roles) mistakenly cast against type as a military officer who transforms into a hideous creature, stalking his victims in the nightfall. MUTANT SPECIES has mostly unmemorable dialogue, and the characters in this film are one-dimensional and insignificant. In other words, MUTANT SPECIES is simply a terrible movie.

MUTANT SPECIES has by far, some of the WORST production values in history. (e.g. This film blatantly relies on stock footage for a scene involving a rocket about to blast-off.) Also, although the cast is capable, the script is inadequate and the monster again looks very miserable.

MUTANT SPECIES tried to make a statement about the evils of technology; however this movie is nothing more than a monster-on-the-rampage film. This bombastic feature sounds a lot more intriguing that it looks. This film is a terminally bland piece of opus.

In spite of the errors and foibles in MUTANT SPECIES, there is an adroit action scene or two directed and the cast tried their best with a tight budget and an inconvenient production design. By no means is MUTANT SPECIES a well-made film in the slightest sense, but the decent pace and a fun premise save this film from total obscurity.

RATING: *1/2 out of ****.