Mutilator 2
In recent years, more or less every 1980s indie slasher movie – and there are what is technically known as a shedload of them – has been reissued in a lavish BluRay edition with multiple commentary tracks, retrospective making-of documentaries and associated merch. In a sense, this forty-years-on follow-up to Buddy Cooper’s The Mutilator – which was also released as Fall Break, complete with catchy theme song – spins off from the package Arrow put together to showcase the original film. It returns to the original North Carolina ‘condo on the beach’ location, brings back some of the original cast-members (Ruth Martinez, Bill Hitchcock) gamely revisiting their youth, and includes footage from the first film – then plays meta-ish games as a new series of mutilation murders (and you get a lot of them) take place during the making of a remake of The Mutilator and at a cast party/reunion event.
Cooper pops in to deliver a dryly wry remark about what he preferred about the original film – ‘the director didn’t get murdered’ – and there’s an amusing turn from Terry Kiser (Bernie of the Weekend at Bernie’s films) playing Jack Chatham, who was murderer ‘Big Ed’ in the first movie and seems reluctant to let go of the role even though someone else has been cast in the remake. It’s amiable and loosely plotted, with a few comic skits – a low-rent Harvey Weinstein-ish producer (Carl J Grasso) has a special effects severed head glued to his dick by a harrassed prop girl (Cody Renee Cameron) – before it gets to the gory business, which involves quite a few old-school Fangoria fold-out practical effects deaths with a beach/fishing theme. There’s the old familiar gaff (signature weapon of Big Ed) and fishhook business, but also inventive use of a stuffed swordfish (and in a splatter movie first) barnacles.
It possibly helps if you’re a Mutilator uber-fan or have just seen the original – there are a lot of callbacks – but it’s entertaining in ramshackle fashion anyway, even down to such ‘80sisms as the stoner grip offering everyone a toke or the costume party walk-ons doing spot gags. For what it’s worth, way better than the Blood Feast sequel or remake. The end credits allow everyone to take a bow and reveal it was all in good messy fun.