#1 - MUTANT
Stars - Francis Renaud, Hélène de Fougerolles, Nicolas Briançon
Director - David Morlet
Memorable Quote - n/a
Review - This is a fairly different take on the zombie genre, combining it more with the sci-fi haunted ship style of plot: Sonia is trapped in a big building in the middle of a snowy forest, under constant threat from humans who have already mutated, and battling with the fact that her husband has already been infected. We follow her as she attempts to stop him from mutating, deals with newcomers, radios for help from the nearby army base, and generally gets covered in blood 90% of the time. The sound at the start of the film is mostly well done, as at pivotal moments everything goes quiet so that we can take in the events, and it seems that at these moments the time is slowed down. Later on the music during chase sequence becomes almost comic, a technique that removes the tension but also kind of lets us not take it all too seriously. The acting is quite convincing, although at times confusing: for example it seemed to me that Marco was actually acting as his normal self at the end of the film, yet she went and *SPOILER*ed him anyway. Plot eorries aside, each supporting character managed to fit into a very defined niche, thought I'm not sure to what extent they were anything more than cliches. It was enjoyable though, especially in the sense that it didn't label all the outsiders as 'out for themselves' as movies of this type tend to do, although it was perhaps a little disappointing that the bad guys lose/good guys win idea was followed through completely. I'm not sure the ending was completely hopeful - I was wondering constantly about the baby and whether it would be born as some hell fiend or something, since it may have become infected through her, and something about the not-overly-joyous expression on her face in the helicopter deepened my suspicions on this point.
One part of the plot that I felt shone was the way that we actually saw someone go through the process of being infected and mutating. Not only did we see the impact this had on his nearest and dearest as we are used to seeing, but we saw the impact on him himself. We saw the mental torment of realising that there is no way back from this: once your teeth start falling out, you know that even if you are cured you will be left with the marks of this for the rest of your life. These little scenes were very well done, highlighting the torment that he was going through. This is something I haven't seen before personally, though I'm sure someone will be able to correct me if it has been done.
The characterisation was also well done. I felt instantly that I liked the 'good' bad guy more than the rest as soon as he came on the screen, and of course he turned out to be willing to fight to save her. Through small touches, we know just what to expect from each character, and there was something almost elegant about the way this was done.
It was not the most original of films, but there was some attempt at originality, so it should not be written off as just another of the genre. Worth a watch if you feel like seeing a lot of gore, make-up effects that include a guy with his head blown off, and the screams of a slightly bog-eyed French woman. Also worth a watch if you enjoy the genre at all, since it is far from the worst zombie ever made. 4/5
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