''The Mutations'' is a low-budget 1974 British-American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

/ horror film directed by

Jack Cardiff Jack Cardiff, (18 September 1914 – 22 April 2009) was a British cinematographer, film and television director, and photographer. His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor, to fi ...

. The film was also released under the title ''The Freakmaker''.

Plot

The film depicts a deranged genetic scientist, Professor Nolter (Donald Pleasence), a man with the self-proclaimed goal to break through to the next stage in human evolution, crossbreeding anthropophagous Venus flytraps with abducted college student

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus '' Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ...

s from his own class. He plans to "create a race of plants that can walk, and men that can take root" through an exploitation of certain

nucleic acids Nucleic acids are biopolymers, macromolecules, essential to all known forms of life. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomers made of three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main cl ...

. The failed experimental mutants are then given to a cruel circus

freak show A freak show, also known as a creep show, is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with ...

owner, Mr. Lynch (Tom Baker) who exploits them to the fullest. However, the mutants and the circus freaks will not be denied justice.

Production

Inspired by Tod Browning's film ''Freaks'' with a science fiction twist, this film is full of

pseudo-scientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

jargon,

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

visuals, makeup effects, references to psychedelics, comical gore, nudity, and appearances by actors with actual genetic abnormalisties as well as some fictional disabilities including a man with "rubber bones" known as the Human Pretzel, a lady with reptilian skin (Alligator Lady), a Monkey Woman, a Human Pincushion and Popeye. Among the other scenes of "freaks" it depicts a reversed stop motion capture of the professor reviving a mouldy orange, and the professor feeding a rabbit to a Venus flytrap. A dissonant and jumbled orchestral score composed by Basil Kirchen provides a dissonant backdrop.

Cast

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

as Professor Nolter *

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (1 ...

as Lynch *

Brad Harris Bradford Harris (July 16, 1933 – November 7, 2017) was an American actor, stuntman, and executive producer. He appeared in a variety of roles in over 50 films, mostly in European productions. He was an inductee in the Stuntman's Hall of Fame ...

as Brian Redford *

Julie Ege Julie Ege (; 12 November 1943 – 29 April 2008) was a Norwegian actress and model, who appeared in many British films of the 1960s and 1970s. Early life Ege was born in Sandnes, the daughter of brickyard worker Marton Ege and Hjørdis Halv ...

as Hedi * Michael Dunn as Burns * Scott Antony as Tony *

Jill Haworth Valerie Jill Haworth
FilmReference.com; accessed 17 May 2016. (15 August 1945 – 3 January 2 ...

as Lauren * Olga Anthony as Bridget * Lisa Collings as Prostitute * Joan Scott as Landlady * Toby Lennon as Tramp * John Wreford as Policeman * Eithne Dunne as Nurse * Richard Davies as Doctor

Release

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

by Subversive Cinema on September 27, 2005. Subversive Cinema later re-released the film on January 29, 2008 including with it commentary tracks with Jack Cardiff, Robert Weinbach, and Brad Harris as a part of its 2-Disk ''Greenhouse Gore'' movie pack. It was last released by Desert Island Films on February 18, 2012.

Reception

Author and film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

awarded the film 2 out of 4 stars, criticizing the film's predictable story and what he called "grotesque elements and characters". ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' awarded the film 1/5 stars, writing, "Though at times the film is so bad it's unintentionally funny, it has a certain cruelty to it." Michael H. Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, gave the movie 3 stars and praised the movie comparing it to Tod Browning's Freaks, and calling the effects "at once shocking and fascinating" and praising its "dissonant orchestral score" which he claims "adds mightily to the mood of unease and gathering madness."Price, Michael,
The Freakmaker' now on video
" Fortworth Star-Telegram 5 Oct. 1984: 3. Print.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mutations, The 1974 films 1970s monster movies British monster movies 1974 horror films Columbia Pictures films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Jack Cardiff Films scored by Basil Kirchin Films set in London Films shot in London 1970s science fiction horror films British science fiction horror films Mad scientist films Films about educators 1970s British films