Blu-ray review: The Mutilator is the goriest 80’s slasher film you’ve never seen

Released at the peak of the slasher craze in 1985, The Mutilator has developed a reputation as one of the great unseen slasher films of the 80’s. The film was essentially forgotten over time by all but the most diehard of horror fans, who kept interest in the film alive by constantly praising its intense level of gore. The cult that grew around the film only increased due its inaccessibility—for years The Mutilator was only available in an edited version on VHS, which lent the title an air of mystique that may not have been totally justified. Written, co-directed and produced by first-time filmmaker Buddy Cooper, The Mutilator has all the hallmarks of a bad student film—it’s really only the shocking scope of the gore that sets the film apart. Thanks to Arrow Video, The Mutilator is now widely available in a previously unseen uncut edition, featuring a barrage of extras including a full-length making-of documentary, two audio commentaries, deleted scenes and much more.

The Mutilator begins with a truly dark opening; young Ed is cleaning his father’s gun collection as a birthday present to his old man, when he accidentally shoots his mother to death. Ed’s father (Jack Chatham) is so traumatized by the event that he disappears from Ed’s life, only to mysteriously re-emerge years later to invite his son to the family’s secluded beach home. Now a teenager, Ed (Matt Miller) and his gaggle of friends decide to make it a boozy road trip getaway, but they quickly discover that someone is lying in wait for them at the old family homestead.

What truly sets The Mutilator apart from the scores of similar 80’s slasher flicks is the disturbing gore FX created by Mark Shostrom (Evil Dead II, Star Trek Voyager). For a movie that scrapes along for most of its running time with bad attempts at teen humour, someone suddenly getting sawed to death with an outboard motor, or a woman being gutted with a fish hook between her legs is definitely going to get your attention.

With awkward pacing, wooden acting, and a terrible ear-worm of a title song (for when the film was still titled Fall Break), The Mutilator is probably best reserved for true gore hounds, who can finally savour some of the most over-the-top 80’s kills in this glorious new 2K transfer. Couple that with a mind-boggling set of extras for such a lacklustre film, and you’ve got yourself a solid package of 80’s slasher schlock.