The Mutilator

The Mutilator (originally titled Fall Break)[4] is a 1984 American slasher film written, directed and produced by Buddy Cooper, and co-directed by John S. Douglass. The plot follows a group of college coeds who travel to an island property during an autumn break, and are stalked and murdered by a man, who has a connection to one of the kids.

The Mutilator
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
  • Buddy Cooper
  • John S. Douglass
Produced byBuddy Cooper
Written byBuddy Cooper
Starring
Music byMichael Minard
CinematographyPeter Schnall
Edited byStephen Mack
Production
company
OK Productions
Distributed byOcean King Releasing
Release date
  • October 5, 1984 (1984-10-05) (Newport News)[1]
  • January 4, 1985 (1985-01-04) (New York City)[2]
  • September 27, 1985 (1985-09-27) (Los Angeles)[3]
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million[3]

Plot

The film opens with the sudden death of a wife and mother (Pamela Weddle Cooper) at the hands of her adolescent son, Ed, (Trace Cooper), when the hunting rifle the boy is cleaning for his father, Big Ed (Jack Chatham), discharges, the bullet hitting his mother in the chest. Upon returning home, Big Ed discovers his wife's body, causing him to suffer a break from reality, and his relationship with his son is permanently soured.

Years later, Ed (Matt Mitler), now in college, is asked by his father to close up the family's beachfront condominium at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, primarily used by the latter as something of a clubhouse for he and his hunting partners, and his friends, eager for something to do over fall break, accompany him. Once there, unbeknownst to the group, Big Ed is waiting for the group, hiding in the basement, and plans to kill his son.

Over the course of the night, Big Ed murders Ed's friends one by one, drowning Linda (Frances Raines) in the pool, cutting open Mike (Morey Lampley) with boat motor, decapitating a police officer (Bennie Moore), impaling Ralph with a flounder gig, and gutting Sue (Connie Rogers) with a large fishing gaff, and stores their bodies in the condominium's basement.

When Ed and Pam (Ruth Martinez) stumble upon the remains of Big Ed's victims, they notice him approaching, prompting them to hide. Ed is ultimately found by his father, who stabs him in the leg but is unable to kill him after Pam intervenes, stabbing him but not killing him. Big Ed attacks the two one more time, before Pam is able to start the car and use it to drive him into a concrete wall, cutting him in half.

As Big Ed lie dying, police arrive on scene and an officer (John Bode) has his leg cut off by Big Ed with his axe before he succumbs to his injuries. The movie ends with Ed and Pam at the hospital seemingly recovering from their ordeal.

Cast
  • Matt Mitler as Ed Jr.
  • Ruth Martinez as Pam
  • Bill Hitchcock as Ralph
  • Connie Rogers as Sue
  • Frances Raines as Linda
  • Morey Lampley as Mike
  • Jack Chatham as Ed Sr.
  • Bennie Moore as Cop
  • Trace Cooper as Young Ed Jr.
  • Pamela Weddle Cooper as Mother

Release

The film was originally titled Fall Break. According to writer and co-director Cooper, the MPAA originally wanted to assign the film an X-rating, which the filmmakers rejected due to its association with pornography. Contemporaneous newspaper reports show that The Mutilator screened in Newport News, Virginia, beginning October 5, 1984.[1] In January 1985, the film opened in New York City,[lower-roman 1] but when the distributor tried to book screenings in middle American theaters they were unable to secure advertising or screenings because it did not have an R-rating. At this point, Cooper relented and edited the film to the MPAA's specifications. It was re-released theatrically later in the year in Los Angeles on September 27, 1985.[3]

Critical response

Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times criticized the film upon its theatrical release, deeming it "a dull, amateurish shocker whose most striking characteristic is its complete lack of any ideas good or otherwise."[5] Variety called it "a boring horror film, designed strictly for fans of explicit gore."[6]

Jeremy Wheeler of AllMovie praised The Mutilator's level of gore but criticized every other aspect of it, noting, "With effects echoing early Tom Savini, the killings in The Mutilator are not only gratuitous, but sickeningly ingenious in that blood red sort of way. It hearkens back to a time when the real stars of horror cinema were the effects, with each kill representing a new creative challenge for the makeup maestros. Yes, the acting is horrible and no, it does nothing to further the genre, but those should be the last reasons to catch this flick."[7]

Similar sentiments are shared by Hysteria Lives![8] Oh, the Horror! stated that, despite the amateurishness of the production, The Mutilator is "one of those slashers that works despite itself," and "falls right in line with other slashers who unwittingly mix inanity and violence in a manner that impossibly works."[9] TV Guide awarded the film one out of five stars, noting that the performances are "all substandard, even for this sort of trash."[10]

In a retrospective, Chris Coffel of Bloody Disgusting praised the film, writing, "The Mutilator contains all the classic slasher tropes. A group of horny, drunk college kids head out for a booze filled weekend of sex. Instead of a cabin in the woods they go to a condo on a beach. Despite this, the film has something very fresh and original to it."[11] Film scholar Jim Harper notes in his book Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies, "Although not a gore classic, The Mutilator is bloodthirsty enough to keep gorehounds happy, and just interesting enough to keep hold of viewers through the slow parts."[12]

Home media

The Mutilator was released in 1985 on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc by Vestron Video in both R-rated and unrated versions.

VIPCO released the film on DVD in the United Kingdom, although cut by seven seconds, and Dragon Entertainment released the film uncut in Germany. Director Buddy Cooper has stated that these releases are unauthorized.

Arrow Video announced that they would release the film on Blu-ray in both the U.K. and the U.S. on September 29, 2015, which would have marked the first legitimate high definition release in both territories.[13] In November 2015, the company announced they had delayed the release after they found a fully uncut 35 mm print of the film held at the U.S. Library of Congress. It was released on February 16, 2016.[11]

Notes
  1. Publications such as New York Magazine list showtimes for the film beginning the weekend of Friday, January 4, 1985.[2]

References
  1. "New movies". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. October 5, 1984. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Movies". New York Magazine: 77–80. January 7, 1985 – via Google Books.
  3. "The Mutilator". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018.
  4. Albright 2012, p. 277.
  5. Goldstein, Patrick (October 1, 1985). "Review: The Mutilator". Los Angeles Times. p. 86 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Bowker, R.R. (1988). "The Mutilator". Variety Film Reviews. Garland Publishing. 19. n.p. ISBN 9780835227995 – via Google Books.
  7. Wheeler, Jeremy. "The Mutilator (1985)". AllMovie. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  8. Kerswell, J.A. "The Mutilator". hysteria-lives.co.uk. Hysteria Lives!. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  9. Gallman, Brett (September 21, 2012). "Mutilator, The (1985)". oh-the-horror.com. Oh, the Horror!. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  10. TV Guide Staff. "The Mutilator - Review". TV Guide. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  11. Coffel, Chris (February 25, 2016). "[Blu-ray Review] 'The Mutilator' Is the Definitive Slasher". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  12. Harper 2004, p. 127.
  13. "Arrow Brings The Mutilator to Blu - ComingSoon.net". June 10, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2016.

Sources
  • Albright, Brian (2012). Regional Horror Films, 1958–1990: A State-by-State Guide with Interviews. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-1-476-60042-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Harper, Jim (2004). Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies. London: Critical Vision. ISBN 978-1-900-48639-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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