Mutants

Clearly influenced by Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, this French zombie movie takes the flesh eating ghoul and has him as a ravenous, disease ridden, powerful monster. The film begins in snow-covered mountains where an ambulance with one seriously injured man, a heavily armed gendarme and the two-man ambulance crew is trying to make it somewhere safe. When the cop orders the paramedic to show her the man's wounds, they are shocked to see him covered in bite marks so the cop does what people tend to do in those situations: take him outside and shoot him to bits.

Seriously unnerved, the two play a waiting game with their hairtrigger friend and it isn't long before they jump her and she is fatally injured. Now Marco and Sonia are alone, they are desperate to find the only place they know is safe: a government run facility known as NOAH.

Whilst they don't find that place, they do find something that will do just as well for the time being, a massive and secure concrete fortress with medical facilities and communication equipment. They need somewhere like this because, in the process of getting rid of the gendarme with the itchy trigger finger, Marco took a bullet in the abdomen and Sonia needs to operate.

Not only was Marco shot, but he has also been bitten, so it's only a question of when, not if, he becomes a mutant and turns on Sonia for food. As time passes, Sonia is able to broadcast from the ambulance in the hope that the people from NOAH might hear and send someone to collect her. It seems everything will go well when a helicopter flies overhead but, once it has come and gone, there is no sign of anyone of any help and the mutants are still out there.

When a gang who have heard her broadcast show up with one of their number bitten, Sonia puts her medical training to use but one of the gang notices a bite mark on the small of her back and it seems that she is immune to the virus and so it is all the more important that she, and her unborn baby, get to NOAH.


This is one of those films where you watch it and know exactly which movies had the biggest impact on the director and, in this case, it is 28 Days Later from the mutants and David Cronenberg's 'body horror' movies of the transformation sequences. This is no bad thing, as learning from the masters is a surefire way to a successful career as long as you don't plagiarise too much and that you create your own identity. Fortunately for David Morlet, he does have a style of his own to go with the citations (there is a very clever reference to Rosemary's Baby near the end). He very neatly builds the tension and the characters, especially Sonia who drives the film.

The horror genre is probably the only one where directors with very little money but a great idea can see their film realised and this was a case here with David Morlet. As debut films go, this one is very impressive. It's not exactly Citizen Kane, The Last Picture Show or The Maltese Falcon, Mutants is an immensely impressive film with some good shocks, gore and character design.

The Disc

The Picture
An incredibly impressive picture which is challenged all the way by the bright exteriors, with bright blue skies and snow everywhere, to the dark interiors with myriad corridors, strange rooms and plenty of shadow. Even in the darker scenes, there is no drop-off in the level of detail which is important as Sonia eventually locks the infected Marco away, so his transformation occurs in the dark yet you can see all the little details, as he moves in and out of the light beams.

The mutant effects are extremely well done and it helps that they are seen fleetingly, or with their head buried in someone's neck or stomach as they begin chewing away! Every instance where special effects make-up is needed is done extremely well and this will have those of a nervous disposition covering their eyes for long periods.

The Sound
The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track does a great job of presenting the dialogue clearly though, for most viewers this won't matter as it is almost entirely in French, and the surrounds are used very well to ramp up the tension and pace. Mutants is very well scored, and this helps to emphasise the tension and sense of urgency.


Final Thoughts
When you watch a lot of horror films, you get to see a lot of debut films and are able to mark down names as ones to watch or ones to avoid -- David Morlet is definitely in the first category as he has undoubted skill and a keen visual eye. Mutants is a deeply impressive film that is much better than many of the other zombie flicks made by first time directors that I've seen in the past few years and I could stand to see a sequel, if he feels like making one that is!

Although there are no extra features on the disc, this is a film that any fan of zombie movies will like and, although the RRP is steep for what the package contains, this is a film definitely worth your time and attention.