Was it bad? Good? Both?

There is a lot of debate on the boards here about whether this movie was bad or good. What some people call unique and inventive, others call inept and unprofessional. Some people point out huge plot holes, and others call them plot twists. Is the story implausible and incomprehensible or complex and layered?

Mutant Chronicles is all these things!

There are a handful of movies, and I think we can all name a few, that despite being poorly made, have a kernel or essence of brilliance in them that makes the people who sense that brilliance defend those movies beyond rationality. Mutant Chronicles is one of these movies.

Consider the richness of the story. A alien machine of unknown origin has come to Earth and starts creating hideous mutants. Early humans bury it deep within the earth and record a history of the lore as they understand it. And then, human civilizations come and go until mankind collapses, re-releasing the hideous mutants, until one day a savior comes to send the machine on its way.

It's a great story, and another director and/or writer could have told it better. And judging by some of the actors who appear in the film, I bet the script did a better job telling the story than the film did. On the other hand, despite its flaws, the film very much conveyed a sense of awe and wonder about the setting, about that world, in which the characters lived. It was bleak and austere and claustrophobic despite the vastness of the waste. I wanted this to be better than it actually was, because I could feel that better version of it trying to break free from the obvious mistakes and problems of the film.

Objectively, this movie was probably a 5/10, but in the alternate universe where they made this movie with more care, it was 8/10 easy.