Mutant Species (1995)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

best movie i've ever seen.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

'Mutant Species' (more known in my country under the title 'Bio Force I') is certainly one of David Prior better movies. The script is very well written and includes one jaw dropping scene along with good, not so happy ending. Very strong side of 'Mutant Species' are actors - we have here Ted Prior who is always great and convincing and some big names including Powers Boothe ('Southern Comfort'), Leo Rossi ('Maniac Cop 2', 'Halloween 2'), Denise Crosby and even Wilford Brimley('The Thing'). What's very important, all people from the cast are good in their roles and Powers Boothe is just perfect as an government asshole who is trying to cover up his mistakes. 'Mutant Species' offers some gore (decapitation, hand ripped of etc.) but most important thing about the picture is rubber monster costume which looks just great and I can assure - you haven't seen something like that before. If you are looking for monster movie in the vein of 'Predator' and you like low budget, you won't be disappointed with 'Mutant Species'. 7 out of 10.

Does anybody know that this movie stars Wilford Brimley (Dr. Blair from John Carpenter's THE THING)? I for one had no idea and it was fun seeing him again on my TV-screen. But don't watch this movie only because he's in it. He has limited screen time and absolutely nothing to do but sit around and do some talking, playing a veteran general. I'm gonna use one of his memorable quotes (he does have some good lines in this movie) to describe the plot: "A biological weapon, so nasty we had to send it to the moon, crashes out here in the forest and we don't have any idea what's going on."If I add the term 'B-horror/sci-fi drivel' than you must know what you're in for. The bio-weapon itself is some kind of red liquid virus containing a mixture of the most aggressive human/animal-dna available. So when the shuttle with the canister containing the virus crashes in the woods, a team of soldiers is send in to retrieve it.I really chuckled myself through this movie. The dialogues are full of clichés and there's even a one-liner which is shamelessly stolen from John Carpenter's THEY LIVE including the words "kick ass" and "bubblegum" (need I say more?). Leo Rossi over-acts it beautifully, at one point (when he discovers his enhanced hearing-abilities) even pulling dramatical funny faces of which Bruce Campbell would be jealous. He also warns his team up to three times to NOT touch the canister when they find it. And when they do find it, what does he do? He immediately picks the darn thing up with his bare hands (thus getting himself infected). So he starts mutating (I love the pulsating skin-effects) into this man in a laughable monster-suit with an over-sized head featuring some crappy animatronics. The rest of the movie has the sole survivor of the team and the mutant chasing each other in the woods. Along the way a special forces team is sent in but immediately gets ripped to shreds without being able to do anything (in case you didn't know, this always happens to highly trained special forces in this type of movies).There are also some intercut scenes featuring Powers Boothe (talking with Brimley). Now good ol' Boothieboy seems to realize that he's starring in a crappy movie and you can tell that he doesn't mind doing so, having fun in delivering his mean pun-filled lines.The ending is completely ridiculous. Never have I seen a monster get killed this way in a movie. Trotter (the one survivor) simply reasons it to death. He gives this speech about them being soldiers once who are not supposed to kill innocent human beings. The monster seems to realize that while making a weeping sound (sounding like a dog being sad). They friggin' salute each other!!! And the monster blows itself up. I gotta hand it to the script-writers, even I couldn't have come up with that one.At first I was convinced that the film-makers intended it to be a tongue-in-cheek B-movie, but there's one detail that tells us otherwise: the musical score by William T. Stromberg. It's too ambitious. It is fairly good but hearing it in this kind of movie makes you roll your eyes and sigh.Now, I must admit I've seen this movie twice (oops!) and I did have some fun with it, but I think the wisest thing to do is put this movie in a canister and send it to the moon.

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 ****.

What is the "Bio-Force 1?" The Bio-Force 1 is described as a biological mutant DNA strain. This peculiar brand of DNA is more of a virus though, virulent enough to infect almost any living being that comes in remote contact with this strain. The symptoms of this powerful disease include homicidal impulses and an uncontrollable rage... The Bio-Force 1 also happens to be America's newest top secret weapon...However, when this scientific experiment goes ballistic, the military has no choice but to detain this mutated DNA strain. For the sake of National Security, a rocket carrying the entire Bio-Force 1 canister has been launched, its destination: the moon. Unfortunately, this is when circumstances get much worse...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 ****.