The Mutations (1974)

AKA: Das Labor des Grauens - The Freakmaker (West Germany), Dr. of Evil (UK - alternative title), Estranhas Mutações (Brazil), Mutacje (Poland), The Freakmaker, The Mutation

Director: Jack Cardiff

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Tom Baker, Brad Harris

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature... it can be HORRIFYING!

Plot: Students have been going missing from the local college, and the one person who knows what's happened to them is Dr. Noller, a rogue biologist. Not satisfied with the pace of natural selection in driving evolution, Noller wants to push things further by creating his own genetically engineered creations. Having already created some amazing specimens by mixing the DNA of plants and animals, the doctor has now set his sights higher, and wants to work on modifying humans as well.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? No.

#36 on Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)


It's got a few things going for it...it's made in the UK, it's got Donald Pleasence and an unrecognizable Tom Baker, it's got a wee bit of nudity...it's...it's...


It's boring. THE MUTATIONS has lots of references to Tod Browning's FREAKS (1932) on one end and on the other it's a mad scientist who has his freak assistant bring him young bodies to experiment on ala some early Frankenstein pictures. That's it. Pleasence is definitely the highlight but that's not much of an endorsement to see the film. I found myself nodding off on more than one occasion.



I had higher hopes for this one but having Dr. Loomis and the backdrop of 1970s London just wasn't enough. Evolution took a big step backward on this one.