REVIEW: Mutants

Mutants
Director: David Morlet
Year 2009

Mutants is an intense and intimate look into what would happen if people began changing into cannibalistic monsters and devouring anything and everyone in sight. French filmmaker David Morlet adds another outstanding film to France’s already substantial resume of modern horror flicks, by combining the feverish urgent style of the new age of zombie movies with the detailed nature of an independent production. What we get with Mutants is an original take on the genre as a whole, plus one hell of an outstanding creature feature.

The film follows a loving couple, Sonia and Marco, as they struggle to survive in this post apocalyptic winter landscape filled with ravenous beasts that want nothing more then to feed on their flesh. With obstacles at every turn, the two come face to face with their worst nightmare, each other. With Marco slowly succumbing to the disease, can Sonia find a way to stop it or will she have to destroy the one person that she loves. That’s some heavy shit right there and the film has the grapes to back it up. If you’ve got the patience and stomach to see this thing through to the end, you won’t be disappointed.

 

As soon as the film is set into motion, we are thrown into a world that is truly in chaos. The opening credits begin to role, and we are treated to a short little sequence of shots that depict a nameless woman surrounded by ravenous bedlam. There are creatures all around her feasting on some unlucky victims, while a blur of violence surrounds the scenes atmosphere. She races from the feeding frenzy, trudging through the thick snow covered forest until eventually reaching an opening in the trees that appears to be provided by a road. Feeling somewhat safe, she stops for a quick breath only to be decimated by a runaway ambulance that houses a small collection of survivors who have their own share of problems. The impact of the collision instantly produces a gore filled explosion that cakes the windshield of the ambulance and obscures the vision of the driver named Marco, one of our main characters. Within this manic death wagon is his lover Sonia, an overworked Doctor who is desperately trying to save the life of a man who is quickly changing thanks to an epidemic that morphs the inflicted into cannibalistic monsters.

This is our introduction to the two main characters and the beastly world that they live in. It’s harsh, nasty and full of danger, and it’s a perfect way to bring us into this survival of the fittest type of situation. We’re cast into the fray in the first seconds of the film, never knowing the full story on how these characters got there, but knowing that shit has really hit the fan in this cinematic world. It was a brilliant way to open the movie, because it actually feeds the fear for the rest of the picture and sustains that atmosphere throughout. I’m sure the filmmakers knew that they had to really open with a bang, because the middle section of this film is rather tepid compared to its bombastic opening. With the establishment of this world being that of high alert and desperate danger, we can now fall into a more intimate situation between the two lovers of the piece as they deal with having one of them healthy and one of the inflicted.

With the situation set up, it is now up to the actors to really hold their own to help continue the story along and they do a tremendous job in that department. Helene de Fougerolles does an amazing job as Sonia, the woman forced to carry the burden of caring for her slowly deteriorating man while at the same time dealing with the venomous forces that are closing in on them from all around. Francis Renaud plays the role of Marco and he does a commendable job with the challenge of portraying a man on the cusp of transforming into something wholly terrible. Some of his scenes are cringe worthy, as you watch this highly likable and caring person, begin to literally lose his shit and melt away, bringing forth an animalistic menace of epic gore-lusting proportions.

The interactions between the two characters are also expertly portrayed, giving us a feel for their relationship without giving too much away about their past. You can feel the dedication that they have between each other in the early portions of the film, and that is carried on through the constant actions of Sonia as she battles against the odds to keep Marco intact and coherent. Their struggle is so vivid and believable that you’ll find yourself having a hard time continuing on with the story, but the torment that they go through is crucial to the narrative and essential to Sonia’s character arch. Coming off as a pacifist and healer in the early portions of the film, she steadily begins to come into her own as the movie progresses, eventually giving her the strength to do what she must in order to survive this cruel new world.

Aside from the emotional impact of the two central characters and their compelling journey, we have some amazing portions of the film that are taken up by the antagonists of the group and that being the ravenous creatures and the dubious survivors that are only out for themselves. Sonia and Marco clash against both men and beast and the actors that portray these offensive foes are experts at what they do. Sonia especially has a run-in with a rogue group of survivors that are only interested in one thing, and that’s obtaining the keys to the ambulance and riding off into the sunset, with or without Sonia or her consent. The leader of the group is a real prick and the actor pulls off this loathsome role with flying colors, even sacrificing his girlfriend in order to buy him some time to get away. What a shithead.

The monster effects are also very good, showcasing that savage and brutal nature that they so obviously have. There are some creepy looking ones in there too, like the overweight mutant or the skinny little bugger that Sonia encounters in the basement hallway. Each mutant has their own look and personal touch, making for a varied and believable cast of ghouls. There are so many positives to this movie, that I have a hard time believing that most critics of the film can’t wrap their heads around this wonderful little production. It’s got a beautiful style, a location to die for, and an unhealthy obsession for gore and gratuitous guts. Now that’s a recipe for fun!

Mutants has all the elements that you need in order to have a complete package of genre goodness. It’s got the characters, monsters, setting, and gore that are essential to creating an explosive flick that holds no punches and shies away from nothing. The cast is wonderful in all of their various roles, with high praise to both Helene de Fougerolles and Francis Renaud for their excruciatingly painful ordeals in bringing their characters to life. The sheer violence of the picture is immense and it’s saturated in that gory mindset of kill or be killed. If you love this new wave of French horror that has recently surfaced and you can’t get enough of zombie movies and their various re-iterations, then look no further then Mutants. This flick is…...

Just play dead lady, you'd be better off.

This is one ambulance that you don't want to be on when you're hurt.

Strike a pose you cold hearted bitch!

Want to flip a coin over who gets to clean this up?

Marco the unexpected badass.

Don't do it Marco! You know you're gonna miss that ass.

I think she's going to be faking a headache tonight.

This is how you say hello in Mutantville.

Microphone check.. one two.. one two.

This guy is a real prick.

Holy Shit! Voldemort is in this movie!?!?!

Being Sonia is a real drag. Tee hee.

Looks like it's a mutant party! Howl at the moon bro!

I can smell your fear and it's delicious.

Hit me with your best shot Sonia.

It's that damn mime again doing that trapped in the box routine.

This is my BOOMSTICK!!!

So you had a bad day?

REVIEW: Tuvalu

Tuvalu
Director: Veit Helmer
Year 1999
 
Tuvalu is a breathtaking oddity of a film brought to us by German director Veit Helmer. Featuring an exceptional cast, imbued in a colorful palette that is as diverse as it is obscure, the film screams for the attention of the audience. The movie is all performed in a cinematic world that is anything but ordinary, displaying that even the strangest of places can give birth to the most extraordinary of stories. With heart and soul, Tuvalu breaks the mold on what to expect when viewing a film and there really isn’t anything like it out there.
 
The film is a literally wildly colorful coming of age tale about a strange young man named Anton who lives at his family’s bathhouse. Secluded from the rest of the world, Anton’s only interactions are with those of his blind father and with his long-suffering mother. Stagnant in life, Anton lives a quite existence that is until a young beautiful girl named Eva visits the bathhouse with her ailing father. Anton becomes obsessed with this exciting beauty and through a series of unexpected events the two get tangled up in one of the most interesting and heartfelt of tales showcasing the growing pains of life and the agonizing reality of the introduction to the age of maturity and responsibility.

I’m not too familiar with director Veit Helmer’s other works, but if Tuvalu is any indication on the rest of his filmography, then I better get my ass started on hunting down the rest of his directorial efforts. This film is an absolute vision. Using a small, yet diverse color palette, Helmer is able to convey a wide array of moods that help separate the tonal atmosphere within the bathhouse from the outside world. Through this method, we are given a greater inside look on how Anton views the world around him, by displacing the feel between the freedom outside and the seclusion inside. Resulting in this choice of color specified shots, the director sets the mood of the piece in brooding mystery and fantastical ambiance.
 
There’s also a deliberate decision to portray this cinema world in a circus style atmosphere. Nothing seems right and everyone seems a bit off when it comes to mental stability. Anton himself, played by Denis Lavant, comes off as more of a man child, having the appearance of a grown man but the disposition of an innocent youth. His inexperience of the world outside is embedded in his character, but Lavant portrays the clueless Anton with such an amped up sense of infantile aplomb that he becomes wholly sympathetic and strikingly relatable.
 
The same can be said for the rest of the cast, including the character of Eva, played by the outrageously talented and absolutely beautiful Chulpan Khamatova. Her innocence mirrors Anton’s, but she represents the outside world and the bearer of experience. She’s seen so many things that Anton has not, but in the end she’s as lost as him in the world. With Anton, his metaphorical crutch is his family and the bathhouse, and with Eva, her crutch is that of her father. Both of their support systems are coming to an end. The bathhouse is on its last legs and so is Eva’s father, so in that sense the two have a common path. When the catalyst of the film sets into motion and the whirlwind of problems begin to siege themselves upon both characters, each one is taken to task with coming up with a way to survive the bedlam. I really loved how both characters interacted with each other and the world around them, both dealing with things differently but ultimately and constantly having their paths cross and intertwine. It almost seems like the director was making a comment on destiny by having the two star crossed lovers fall in and out of each others lives, but eventually connecting when the dust clears.

Another thing that can be said about this film is that there isn’t a whole hell of a lot of dialogue to be heard, leaving the actors to really overact and emphasis their actions. The resulting effect is actually more effective, allowing you to seep into the world and become a part of it. Much like Anton and his slow reveal of the outside world, we too follow in his footsteps and get used to the way things are in this odd cinematic landscape. Like all things we are first introduced to, it appears jarring and unfamiliar, but once you establish the tone and allow yourself to familiarize with the culture of this fictional society, it actually becomes a sensible and stalwartly way of depicting a world full of humanity and soul. There is so much life within this film that it almost threatens to burst from outside its enclosed frame.
 
Even the sets have a life of their own. The age and wear can be seen on every crusted wall, every rusted fixture, and every cracked tile. The personality of the bathhouse alone has enough interesting history within its tired walls to write a book about. That’s the thing about this film that I find most intriguing. Not only are the characters fully realized and exhilaratingly believable, but the locations and sets are equally teeming with verve. There isn’t one place in this film that doesn’t seem lived in and appropriately aged within the confines of the cinematic world that Helmer has set up. The craftsmanship and acute melding of both the visual look of the world with the expressive cast is so unparalleled that this masterpiece disserves to be seen by anyone open to foreign cinema and able to think outside the box. Don’t get me wrong, this film is not for everyone. You have to be able to let go of what you know and just go along with the wonderful imagery that Helmer has lovingly crafted for this undiscovered world.

Tuvalu is an exceptional example of cinema at its finest. Constructed from the imaginations of cerebral thinkers and portrayed in such a visual light, the film shines like nothing like it. The coming of age story is at its core a simple one, but Helmer has injected that traditional context with a vibrant dose of heart. Denis Lavant and Chulpan Khamatova have created an inspirational performance in their characters and have fully brought them to stark life. Through the method of expressive actions blended with extraordinary sets, Tuvalu excels in showing us something that we’ve never seen before.
 
A true original masterpiece, the movie takes us to a place that can only exist on a cinematic plain, but that disconnected feeling that we should have with a wholly fabricated world is never felt. Instead we are allowed to meld within the story and find our own place inside this enjoyable tale of love, loss, and the overwhelming event of passing from youth to adulthood. Tuvalu is truly a film that transports the viewer to another place by disregarding the norm in order to bring movie lovers something that is absolutely exceptional. This film is……

Somewhere out there.

Keep your hands off my daughter's panties!

I feel zestfully CLEAN!

A face only a mother could love.

Scratch that. Not even his mother loves that mug.

You panty sniffing FREAK!

Just keep quiet Chulpan. The weirdo will go away.

You're A OK in my book son.

Someone get me out of this crazy film.

Yep, Anton is a special one alright.

Who the hell do you think you are? Dennis the Menace?

Looks like someone's catching the vapors.

I'd like to make an announcement. I'm OLD!

Run Anton! Run!

What a shithole.

The sad drowning of Noodle Boy.

The saddest bathhouse in the world.

The sequel to A Boy and his Dog. A Girl and her Goldfish.

Sometimes when we touch, the honesty's too much.

And they lived happily ever after. The End.

i SPY EUROSPY: Super Seven Calling Cairo

Super Seven Calling Cairo
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Year 1965

Super Seven Calling Cairo is a pretty enjoyable Eurospy effort that has all the right ingredients in its formulaic recipe to make for a wonderful super spy viewing. Umberto Lenzi directs this entry and it’s equally as fun as his other efforts in the genre around this time. The film stacks up nicely when compared to his The Spy Who Loved Flowers and 008: Operation Exterminate, and the same globe trotting aspect of those productions is brought to great realization in Super Seven Calling Cairo.

The film follows agent Martin Stevens AKA Superseven as he is in hot pursuit of a camera that houses a new valuable metal. His hunt for the rare item takes him across the globe, while at the same time dealing him some rather close encounters with some very dangerous women. I expect nothing less from a good Eurospy. With an excellent cast and a plethora of beautiful locations, Super Seven Calling Cairo is a great example of a highly entertaining Eurospy that knows how to deliver the goods.

Roger Browne plays the role of Superseven, the agent that every woman figuratively loves to death and often literally tries to. Browne takes on the character with almost a regal sensibility, coming off more refined then the usual Eurospy secret agent. He’s probably the closest to the James Bond stereotype that any Eurospy has gotten too, at least from the films that I’ve seen, and he brings a tinge of respectability to his role. Poised with a square jaw and calm demeanor, his secret agent is craftier then most, never relying on wit or charm to get him out of sticky situations but rather his athletic ability and intellect.

The film also plays off of this more leveled and focused tone, by presenting Superseven with an interesting pairing of girls that both tug on the viewers expectations on which one of the women is the bad guy of the piece. Rosalba Neri, who has appeared in a few choice Eurospy films but is mostly known for her large cannon of horror movie appearances, plays the role of Faddja, a beautiful young woman who is forced to aid the opposition to Superseven. She looks absolutely stunning in this film and she provides a rather important role in the story that comes full circle in the closing moments of the movie. Opposite her is actress Fabienne Dali, who plays the role of Denise, a local Egyptian woman that accompanies Superseven on his mission to recover the sought after camera. Dali has the bigger of the two roles, traveling from exotic location to exotic location all by the side of Superseven, often getting tangled up in the danger and espionage. Lenzi does a tremendous job in interweaving these two women into the story, while never giving us a clear intention on either of their motives for wanting to be around Superseven. The ambiguity of their objectives is spectacularly done and the film is better for it.

Another aspect of the film that I really enjoyed was the inclusion of all the globetrotting. Like any good Eurospy movie, you have to have a ton of exotic places for your agent to randomly visit and in Super Seven Calling Cairo, there’s plenty of that. Agent Martin Stevens finds himself in Rome, Paris, Locarno, and London, especially spending a good deal of time in Cairo, hence the title of the film. The Egyptian exteriors are wonderful, giving a wide breadth of interesting locals that showcase many expansive shots of crowded marketplaces and monumental glimpses of the iconic pyramids. I also enjoyed the filmmaker’s choice of shooting on location in Locarno, Switzerland. The area is absolutely beautiful and the film explored its surrounding areas in a way I’ve never seen before in a Eurospy film.

What’s also great about all of this globe-trotting is that it never feels random. Superseven always has a legitimate reason for visiting these gorgeous places and you never get the feeling that they just shoe horned the story into forcing him to be there because of the filmmakers’ prior permission to visit the cities. There’s much about this film that seems to fit just right and Lenzi has done a wonderful job in making the movie logical while still setting it in that wacky mind set of a traditional Eurospy. This flick really is that enjoyable and fun.

Super Seven Calling Cairo is a well put together little Eurospy film that tries to keep the espionage respective, while at the same time delving in a few guilty pleasures that the genre has to offer. The location shoots are wonderfully captured and fully utilized within the context of the story, making for a spy film that is both visually sweeping as it is contextually interesting.
 
Roger Browne brings a thoughtful nature to Superseven, classing up the role of secret agent a bit while still giving him that ruthless cunning attitude that is sorely missed in many Eurospy films. Both Rosalba Neri and Fabienne Dali look stunning in their opposing roles and the fact that they both have so much to do in this movie is an added plus. For me, Eurospy films are a medium for us to be able to be transported to exotic locations while at the same time role playing as a secret agent that has the world by the horns. Super Seven Calling Cairo does exactly that and it does it in style. If you’re looking for a quick Eurospy fix then look no further then this Umberto Lenzi directed effort, because there is much to love here. The movie is just…….

The names Martin Stevens, but you can call me Superseven if you're nasty.

With a cold stare like that, how can she not be pure evil?

Clinky.

Woah! I'm freaking out!

Another F on your report card? Superseven I'm ashamed of you.

Here, let me kill you slowly. Say lung cancer.

The kiss of death.

Get your naked ass out here.

Rosalba Neri hates back seat drivers. Especially when their next to her.

How cute.

Take that you son of a bitch!

Did you take the last of the Oreo's?

Superseven day-dreaming about joining the Mile High Club.

The End.