[Inspector Abberline]

Mutant (1984) Night Shadows.
Directed by John "Bud" Cardos, friend of Al Adamson and ex stuntman,this is a quirky and fun cross between Night of the living Dead and the Crazies minus the gore and social commentary....Wings Hauser as Josh Cameron and his brother played by Lee Montgomery as Mike Cameron,are driving there way across,well America I guess,when there run off the road by your average Rednecks, ( hasn't anyone watched Deliverance in the movies )...Well the pair schlep there way to a rural town,but not everything is as it seems... Admittedly it does take quite awhile for the film to get going,and I'm assuming that the budget was fairly small judging by the amount of screen time we get with the mutants,but it's a entertaining stab at a well worn story...The cast are remarkably likeable,well apart the town bullies,but Wings Hauser has a screen persona usually bigger than the films he appears in...Also bringing up the B-movie rear is good old dependable Bo Hopkins as Sheriff Will Stewart, (I always get him and Sevenson mixed up),he starts out grumpy and unbelieving the story about rampant mutants,but is soon won over.... Anybody who has watched this on VHS or the dvd,will know the transfer was unbelievably murky and dark,to the point of unwatchable,but the recent blu ray,is excellent and just makes it a great watch... Mutant is bloodless and has little actual gore,apart from a couple of neat bladder effects,as people transform into Mutants...But it's a fun watch and brainless enough to be entertaining...