cinema history class: the mutations

Session: Get Your Freak On, Week 4
Movie: The Mutations (1973)
Directed by Jack Cardiff

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
An unethical geneticist is trying to create a hybrid of human and plant. His assistant, a horribly deformed man (reminiscent of The Elephant Man) is helping in the hopes that the scientist will cure his abnormality.  Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:
The Mutations (alternate title: The Freakmaker) is a weird, and at times uneasy, pastiche. There's the main plotline of a mad scientist trying to create a new life form. That's been done many times -- most notably in Frankenstein, which is clearly an influence. But there's also the story of the circus freaks, which is clearly inspired by Tod Browning's 1972 classic. It even features the freaks saying (or their tormentor) "He's one of us." The parallels are clear and deliberate. The connection between these plots is the fact that Lynch (himself a human oddity) is helping the mad scientist in the hopes of getting cured.

It starts out slow and talky. The introductory lecture about mutation can be sleep-inducing. But it does gain steam, and by the time you see the human/plant hybrid in full green costume, consuming people...well, let's just say that it's got the action it needs.

It's actually kind of interesting to see just how clearly this film paid homage (read: "ripped off") Freaks, 40 years after that influential film. You can see some of it in the trailer above. I suppose the one twist is that the freaks' tormentor turned victim was already one of them.

I also got a kick out of recognizing Michael Dunn as the actor who played Alexander in the "Plato's Stepchildren" episode of Star Trek. You can see him in the trailer as well.

Ratings:

Me: 8

Dave: 9.7

Ethan: 9

Sean: 3 out of 4

We all agreed that this was clearly the best film Keith showed us in this Freaks-inspired month. And it was a good one to close with.

Former Boss' Reaction:
To let y'all know, someone who used to be my boss says he will not watch movies made before 1980 -- except for Star Wars. I try to touch base with him about the movies we saw in class, and ask if he'd be interested in seeing them.

My former boss has not given me his reaction. Something about wanting me to change the wording about how our projection model is handling ModCo reinsurance treaties in its calculation of C-3 exposure for RBC purposes.