Mutants (2009) Reviews

• Zombie Contagion Film That Offers its Characters the Cruelty of Hope

  Llakor2009-07-15

  In its very first minute, Mutants reminds us that in order to survive the inevitable zombie apocalypse, it is best not to get too attached to anyone or anything. And of course, the problem is that it is very easy to say that, but much harder to put theory into practice. The difficulty with zombies, besides the fact that they are the tireless, ravenous living dead is that they are monsters with the faces of our loved ones. Random zombies are a problem, but one that can be solved with ruthless application of violence. From Romero's Night of the Living Dead to Robert Kirkland's Walking Dead the most difficult zombies haven't been the faceless hordes, but the zombies that we knew when they were human, our sons, daughters, parents and lovers. The zombies being offered in Mutants are viral mutants similar to the ones in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, but where Boyle's film gave us a transformation that was almost simultaneous with infection, Mutants offers a much crueler plight. It imagines a delay between infection to full viral mutation of about four days. The cruelty of a long and painful transformation (in this case strongly reminiscent of Cronenberg's The Fly) is that it offers the illusion that a cure is possible. In this case, the main character, Sonia, is a medical professional. (It is unclear if she is a doctor or a nurse.) Sonia's identity is vested in her belief that any disease can be cured, that her infected lover Marco can be saved and she has secrets that help convince her that a cure is possible, even likely. This is heresy for zombie affliction afficionados, where the only true cure for infection is immediate amputation, but by flirting with heresy, Mutants asks some compelling questions. In the process, it offers an eloquent elegy to the moral quandary of euthanasia. At what point is medical treatment crueler than death? At what point has your loved one become so consumed by disease that all that they were and all that they could be have been replaced by the disease? Where does humanity end and death begin? Bad enough to be faced with those impossible questions, but Morlet ups the ante on Sonia by reminding us that the inevitable zombie apocalypse is not just about the zombies, it is also about the apocalypse - the end of everything. The end of easy transportation, the end of gas, the end of warmth, the end of light, the end of communication, the end of parts, the end of bullets, the end of civility, the end of love and the end of trust. The film is not perfect. It uses a but too much of the shock-cam technique currently in vogue. There are also a couple of steps in the mutation that make little sense. Mutant zombies losing their hair makes sense, but losing their teeth? Really? The reason that the zombie apocalypse is inevitable has everything to do with our voracious and insatiable appetite that will eventually overcome and overwhelm our ability to feed it. The zombie apocalypse is the contrast between the death of our ability to feed the hunger and the dark monstrous face of that hunger lying just behind the mask of civility. David Morel reminds us in Mutants not just of that inevitability, but also that when the end comes it will be both painful and beautiful, and that the barrier between life and death, love and hate, civilization and chaos is not a barrier that is crossed in an instant. It is one that is crossed so slowly and the hair, the blood, the fluids and all the mess of life and living shed in the crossing are so distracting that by the time you know that you have passed the tipping point, it is too late to turn back.

• Great little apocalyptic suspense chiller

  DanLives19802014-08-23

  Seriously, stop calling this a zombie movie. The hint is in the title! As somebody who follows video games, I am lately quite a fan of the Day-Z standalone game that is being developed for PC and PS4. 'Mutants' is that one film that such gamers should watch (even though it's not a zombie movie). The problem I find these days with low-budget apocalyptic horror is that not only does it often fail to learn from classic horrors that paved the way for modern cinema - while earning kudos for its own originality - it has too much on its plate for its budget to contend with. It's just not convincing enough, in aesthetic, story or acting ability. Introducing 'Mutants', I can only point out that not only is it an original story all of its own, it has a location all of its own lending a superb setting, and it successfully refreshes all the thrills and chills of such classics as The Shining, Aliens, Evil Dead, 28 Days Later and more (without being a zombie movie). A terrifying pandemic that turns its victims into raging flesh-eating mutants leaves two paramedics (Marcus and Sonia) and a SWAT officer on the run. When a showdown leaves only our paramedics alive, one of them injured and infected, it is up to Sonia to try to save Marcus, while protecting herself and her unborn baby. The pretense being that there is an isolated military base that they must reach, they are forced to hide in an abandoned building, where Marcus slowly mutates and Sonia loses hope. But then there are possibly worse things out there than the mutants roaming the apocalyptic winter landscape. 'Mutants' takes its cue from many classics, but 'The Shining' is most definitely the one that really stands out to me. It doesn't try to be that way, it simply utilises those codes and conventions and succeeds in its mission as a result. 'Mutants' is claustrophobic, tense, bloody and filled with many edge of your seat moments. The same crew could also have made an awesome 'Left 4 Dead' movie. The special effects are quite grim. My only issue regarding this movie is that the French didn't always translate too well to English. There were also a few letterbox mistakes, which were pretty amateur; something that doesn't reflect on the movie at all as a whole!

• So much more than just a zombie/infected film

  SpannersGerm6692012-07-09

  Sonia (a nurse/doctor) and her husband Marco have survived a mutation outbreak and are now on the run. Finding a place to take refuge, Marco gets infected with some contaminated blood, and is desperate to find a cue. As the infection takes days to mutate, Sonia is in a desperate race against time to help the love of her life, and ultimately face up to the possibility that she may lose him. We have all had our fair share of standard Zombie/Infected films. Everybody seems to want to be the next George A. Romero, and unfortunately its a case of "seen one, seen them all". Then comes along David Morlet's "Mutants". A film about an apocalyptic outbreak, with plenty of flesh eating mutants, but this film serves so much more of a purpose than others that have come before it. To me, the story of the apocalypse was a side story, as the real focus was on the controversial use of "Euthanasia" ... such a debate has been raging over this topic, and the subtle way that David Morlet uses this topic, was superb. Is it OK to end the life of someone who has no more quality in theirs? Is it OK to put someone to sleep, forever? The question is constantly asked throughout the duration of the film, and shows the impact and heartbreak that even the thought can produce. The fact that this infection takes days to mutate and not instant, gives the viewer a false sense of a positive outcome. It shows that sometimes hope can be cruel, and we go along with the two characters, as things just go from bad to worse. Combining this strong psychological element with superb, isolated, cinematography, a strong soundtrack, above average acting, with gore and blood to add, this movie stands out as a very unique addition, to a very tired sub genre. Highly impressive!

• Great "zombie" movie

  daletheminoltaman2012-01-15

  I had watched this movie years ago and forgot the name. I just stumbled upon it again recently and was so happy when I seen the opening scene. This movie is GREAT and is a must see for zombie/horror fans, great scenery, great gore, great plot. The action starts in the first 2 seconds of the movie and the tense feeling does not let up through the entire movie. Good stuff, give it a watch you will not regret it! A great cold weather movie. With a nice original plot and location. No boring moments in this film. zombie, Infection Horror film. I love the remote location it was filmed in, very beautiful and adds to the tense feeling of the film.

• Stand By Your Man

  inthequietsecretnight2011-11-08

  I'm gonna call this a good zombie film. Yes, it's a virus but the results are the pretty much the same, sick people who wanna eat ya. Lots of blood in this film but what makes it special is the romance. Marco has neither looks nor personality but his gal stands by him (almost) to the end. It's a gross, fun film with lots of snow (if ya like snow you're gonna love this movie) and I found it highly entertaining. Great art? No. Much fun? Yes. Now, if you love snow but want more than just entertainment, if ya want a little art, Let The Right One In, is a must see film. Some blood, romance too and a great take on Renfield.