Revisiting this 30 years on...

I went to see the mish-mash that is "Ghoulies" in the cinema here in Dublin, Ireland in 1984 on a double-bill (remember those?!) and remember being more pleasantly surprised by its support film “Mutant” which I knew nothing about.

Hadn’t seen the film since until spotting it in a supermarket bargain bin for €1.49 just the other day! On just viewing it again, its charms are still intact. 80s schlock-meister Wings Hauser along with Bo Hopkins as the sheriff are in top form playing the heroes and there’s a supporting cast of likeable characters. What’s good about it is the first hour is a slow, drawn-out build up and - just as you’re about to give up and say “nothing to see here” - the last half hour cranks up into a relentless, atmospheric, enjoyable zombie (or rather mutant) chase that proves pretty decent for its time.

The spooky original poster artwork led it to be a decent video hit here in Ireland and the U.K. in the 80s - bizarrely resulting in said artwork soon-after being turned red and reused as the video cover for a certain “Mutant 2” which was actually the totally-unconnected film “Alien Predators”!

While there was no official sequel, was surprised to learn that again bizarrely two years later its script was reworked and remade as “Nightmare At Noon” (again starring Wings Hauser and Bo Hopkins) which was eventually released in the States in 1988.

"Mutant" (aka "Night Shadows") holds up pretty well. The score, the cast, the direction, the "feel" of the movie are more than decent considering its time and budget. It deserves more love as a "lost" horror almost-gem of the 80s.