Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Scary Movie Month 2014, Day 21

The Mutilator

This is an odd case in that it's both completely by-the-numbers and also thoroughly batshit. A group of 35-year-old kids spend "Fall Break" (because that's a thing?) at an abandoned beach condo and are systematically murdered by a lunatic with a great deal of sharp objects at his disposal.

It's a pretty standard stalk-and-slash for the most part, but has enough of an offbeat vibe that it's pretty entertaining. It opens and closes with a goofy, incongruous pop song (called Fall Break because, as previously established, that is totally a thing that exists) and features a handful of surprisingly grisly kills. There's a scene involving an oversize fish hook that legitimately made me wince, and the moment that the villain is dispatched is so crazy that it has to be seen to be believed. The flashback that sets the events in motion is also somewhere on the border between tasteless and hilarious.

The characters are fairly standard, but I couldn't help but like the practical joker of the group (played by Earth 2 Steve Lawrence, I believe). There's a scene early on where he tries to con a convenience store clerk into giving him 10% off a six-pack of beer that's just dopey enough to cross the line into charming. I have a soft spot for this character type, though. I blame my childhood hero Larry Zerner.

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