Runtime: 86 minutes
Directed by: Buddy Cooper... and John Douglass
Starring: Matt Mitner, Ruth Martinez, Bill Hitchcock, Connie Rogers, Frances Raines
From: Ocean King Releasing
Featuring the OBX, Natty Light, and... an opening credits song that sounds like a 70's sitcom theme?!
Recently, I saw a few minutes of this movie on one of the three streaming channels on Shudder, and it happened to be the opening credits that actually did sound like a 70's sitcom theme that might as well have been done by, say, John Sebastian or Dr. John. What an earworm it is, and the tune also plays during the end credits. Frankly, for me that does earn the movie some bonus points. That song is called Fall Break as that was its original title-the print available uses that title, as a matter of fact. On Shudder the print isn't that good, and for some reason it is letterboxed on all four sides. I actually saw the movie on Arrow where the print was at the right aspect ratio and it looked MUCH better.
The opening scene featured a 10 year old boy named Ed who wants to clean his father's shotguns for his birthday. Note that they are in an unlocked case which he can easily access. Ed accidentally shoots his mom dead! After that bit of accidental matricide, his dad (a big hunting fan, which I know will cause some to automatically hate him right there) takes it even worse than expected; note that he doesn't blame himself for leaving loaded guns in a spot where children can grab them at any time. The rest of the movie is Ed as a college kid; his dad wants him to clean up their condo as it's the autumn time. Ed's buddies wish to tag along as it's fall break time so they'll have a few days to drink copious amounts of Natural Light-a beer popular during my college days 20 some odd years ago but I imagine White Claws are the popular booze de jour now-and engage in tomfoolery. The movie makes it clear right away: Ed's dad is the killer, finally wanting to murder his son as a means of revenge.
It is a silly slasher which does have some long stretches where not a lot happens. That said, I was still entertained-Atlantic Beach, North Carolina appears to be a lovely beachside community. The sextet are a tolerable crew-even the jerk of the group (named Ralph) is more an amusing heel than a real SOB. And the score is acceptable-it becomes electronic whenever Ed's dad (known as Big Ed!) is stalking about... and it starts sounding like a song from Neu! While the acting sometimes leaves a lot to be desired-the most “distinguished” actor was Ben Moore, and that's just because he appeared in a few Herschell Gordon Lewis movies!-at least Big Ed uses his hunting skills to stalk his prey and most importantly for a movie called The Mutilator, there is gore which looks good, especially for what had to be a tiny budget. Not a must-see genre effort but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its charms.
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