AllMovie

In the pantheon of the zombie film, 1984's Mutant is a consistently overlooked low budget gem whose potential is massive amongst genre fans willing to seek it out. Echoing everything from George A. Romero's Dead Series to the future Resident Evil franchise, the flick is a slow burner that ponders what would happen if the hikers from American Werewolf in London happened upon a town where toxic waste transforms all of the redneck inhabitants into blue faced zombie ghouls. Adding to the fun is the casting, with a young Wings Hauser brawling his way through hicks and zombies with the same crazy glare that scared the hell out of audiences in Vice Squad two years before, except this time, his wild streak is buried within a jocular hero mold. Though the production is plagued with excessively poor dubbing, the finale is a thrilling tour-de-force of classic zombie imagery, with the two living protagonists cornered in a market with hoards of zombie hands reaching out for them. Most commonly found in dollar bins or cheap racks everywhere, Mutant is a deserving horror outing that is sadly known more for its memorable video cover and poor DVD distribution than for its inherent genre appeal.