This 1985 slasher film was criticized for its cookie-cutter approach to the genre (horny teens go to an isolated area and are picked off one by one by a psycho killer) but praised for delivering the goods when it came to the gory violence and for just having a certain charm most of the others rolling off the assembly line lacked. Slasher films are not everyone's cup of meat. The early examples like Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO (yes, it is a slasher film), Mario Bava's BAY OF BLOOD and the early Herschell Gordon Lewis /Dave Friedman films all had something going for them to set them apart from the pack. Hitchcock provided fine acting and production; Bava brought the Italian giallo style of suspense to the table and Lewis/Friedman were simply ridiculous and kept tongue firmly in cheek while yanking out overly large tongues and fumbling with entrails. The success of John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN led to the success of the one that really started the slasher film cycle, FRIDAY THE 13th. After this loads of films with holiday themed titles were released to drive-ins and grindhouses where teens would have sex and then be killed by a psychotic murderer out for revenge or suffering from childhood issues.
THE MUTILATOR begins with a serene family scene of a Mom making dinner and a young boy preparing to surprise his father by cleaning his rifles for a birthday present. Something goes terribly wrong and a gun goes off accidently and the mother is killed. The father comes home and goes insane when he sees his dead wife. He beats the boy, drags his wife's corpse to a chair and settles in to get drunk. Years later the father calls the son to demand he go to the family's beach home and shut it down for the fall break. Although the son is reluctant to help his alcoholic and abusive father, his teen friends decide it would be a great vacation filled with sex and drinking and the murders soon begin.
Originally filmed as FALL BREAK - and this Blu-ray release features that title on the credits - this film strives to be just a little better than the others and succeeds on its own level. It has relatively decent acting and the production value is very good for a low budget picture. As for the gore effects there are some shocking and nicely done gags by then newcomer Mark Shostrom. The giant fishing hook through the vagina is the one that will make even the most bloodthirsty gore hound cringe. The film's big end effect where the killer is extinguished was parodied in BROKEN LIZARD'S CLUB DREAD. The extras include a feature-length making-of documentary that is of interest to first time filmmakers and will be especially fun for the film's hardcore.