Mutilator 2 Blu Ray Review (Cardinal XD)

Mutilator 2 is a 2023 slasher co-written, produced, and directed by Buddy Cooper (The Mutilator). Additional dialogue was written by Sylvia Soska and Jen Soska (American Mary, Dead Hooker in a Trunk, ABCs of Death 2, On the Edge, and Rabid). It was produced by Jeff Seemann (Terror Trips, Hazard, Bystanders, and The Asylum). It’s a sequel to 1984’s The Mutilator. As a film crew wraps up the production of the long awaited follow up to 1984’s The Mutilator, they start getting murdered one by one. They try to keep the mayhem a secret while finishing it up and promoting it at their wrap party which includes characters from the original such as Big Ed (played by: Terry Kiser from Tammy and the T-Rex, Weekend at Bernie’s franchise, Friday the 13th: The New Blood, Stream, Mannequin: On the Move, Pet Shop, and From a Whisper to a Scream), Pam (played by: Ruth Martinez from The Mutilator), and Ralph (played by: Bill Hitchcock from The Mutilator about Cat’s Eye). This celebration of an 80’s slasher turns into a reunion of terror!!!! The original Mutilator was one of the better lower budget 80’s slashers back in the day. Buddy Cooper has helped produced a few movies over the years. This is the first time since then that he is writing and directing again. I’m really curious how much of his first draft actually made it into the final version because it doesn’t feel like his style at all. Mutilator 2 is credited with 10 additional writers including horror twins The Soska Sisters. I wasn’t a big fan of the direction this one went. It just acted like the original was just a film, rather than a real life event and continuing it somehow which would have been more entertaining. It’s a self aware comedy for the most part that turns into a slasher. It wasn’t funny at all, the humor always fell flat. Some of the characters are so awful, I guess it works because you want to see them die even more. I will say that one of the coolest things about this sequel is that Ruth Martinez and Bill Hitchcock return from the first one as themselves. It’s the only quality thing when it comes to it’s only a movie concept. The real Jack Chatham must have not been interested in reprising Big Ed in this because he’s still alive. Personally, I thought that was a blessing because Terry Kiser gives the best performance here. He really elevates every scene that he’s in. I had to do a double take when I seen his name pop up in the credits. I’m not sure if he’s local or just a great friend of the director but he stood out like a sore thumb when it came to the entire cast. I didn’t expect to see him in something like this. He’s very talented and he’s been in some massive projects over the years. Cody Renee Cameron (Barbie and Kendra franchise, El Camino, Mayans M.C., The Neon Demon, Old Dads, and Evil Bong 888: Infinity High) as Sandy is the other one that really shined in this when it came to the acting. She’s so feisty and I love her character. She was the only one that made me laugh out loud for all of the comedy from this. She also did stunts for the movie. The rest of the supporting cast includes Damian Maffei (The Strangers: Prey at Night), Eva Hamilton (Ruin Me), Marco Reese Maldonado (Wicked City), Mark Francis (Night of the Living Dead), Loren Swan (Jagged Mind), Dan Grogan (Pigshit), Chaney Morrow (Wrong Turn), Jesse Contente (Camp Willowcreek), Eric Six (Wormtown), Wyatt Easterling, Carl J Grasso (Bloody Nun franchise), Ryan James (Terrifier 2), Carroll Herring (Have a Seat), Gabriella Mead (The Deep Woods), Emily Sue Bengtson (Puppet Master: Doktor Death), Anna Clary (Coffintooth), Peter Bussian (Our Church Thinks We’re Dating), Bryden Elliott DiGennaro (The Woodmen), Brandi Botkin (Wicked Ones), and Lauren Shampine (The Barn: Part II). Buddy Cooper pokes fun of The Mutilator being mutilated during it’s editing process for it’s 1984 release. Ironically, he does the exact same thing for a few of the deaths for this follow up. They had so much potential but the murders are extremely quick and it just cuts away. One of the special fx artist that worked on Mutilator 2 has confirmed that he did so much more here but unfortunately the production didn’t use most of it for some reason. That doesn’t make any sense because this is an independent that doesn’t have to worry about a Rating. Plus it’s a slasher so gore and gruesome kills are expected. Don’t get me wrong, it still has some brutal moments that actually look amazing in this. There’s a variety of creative and cool executions, those are the true highlights when it comes to this sequel. Despite it’s editing issues, special fx artists Joe Castro (Night of the Demons III, Wishmaster franchise, Blood Feast 2, Uncle Sam, Evil Toons, Terror Toons franchise, Humanoids from the Deep, Bonehill Road, The Barn: Part II, and Teenage Exorcist) and Josh Wasylink (Silent Night, ABCs of Death 2, Debbie Does Demons, V/H/S Viral, Cocaine Werewolf, Independence Day: Resurgence, Deathstalker, and Cabin Fever 3: Patient Zero) are the real heroes of Mutilator 2. During the wrap party scenes, it has people dressed up as Art the Clown, Michael Myers, and Jason Voorhees. I thought those were fun nods to the sub-genre. Mutilator 2 definitely didn’t live up to the almost 40 year wait. It’s a shell of the first one but I didn’t hate it or anything. It still had it’s occasional moments that made it worth checking out. It had so much potential but I do respect that they tried something different rather than basically remaking it. The ending is frustrating, it doesn’t tie up anything. I would only recommend it to diehard fans of The Mutilator because they would enjoy the violent sections of it. It would probably be more entertaining while drunk with a group of friends or a crowd. It’s currently streaming on Amazon Prime if you are curious about it. Unfortunately, there’s no special features or behind the scenes material for the home video release from Cardinal XD. It’s a professionally made on demand BD-R. It’s currently streaming on Tubi. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com!!!!