The Mutations (1974) User Reviews

Ahead of it's time

[Pearsey · 6/10 · 10 August 1999]

I liked this movie, thought it was from the 1980's from the discussion at the beginning about cloning dinosaurs from their DNA and employing genetics on animals. Turns out it was from 1973 and ahead of it's time.

The movie does have some parallels to "Freaks" and the movie supplies the real thing. Michael Dunn, "Dr. Lovelace" of "Wild, Wild, West" is good in his role as the operator of the sideshow.

Undeniably quirky

[christopher-underwood · 6/10 · 2 December 2005]

Not really enough money or effort put into this one. It appears that everyone thought simply that the presence of various 'freaks' Donald Pleasence, a bit of nudity and some man eating plants should see them through.

Actually this almost works, unfortunately Mr Pleasence is in particularly one note form and although the speeded up photography for the plants is fine the later costumes for those that have turned into half human, half plant are not half as effective. There are some decent moments and good ideas but it is all so uphill. Undeniably quirky, though and probably worth it for the fairground scenes.

Old school mad scientist movie with some eye-popping exploitation added to the mix

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 12 December 2022]

I first became aware of this one from my, somewhat inaccurately named book, Sci-Fi Now which charted the science fiction which fell between 2001 and Star Wars. It turns out that this was a great era for the genre, seeing as the sci-fi in this period just seemed to go a bit weird. The Freakmaker on the other hand, seems to have resurrected that sub-category which was seriously antiquated even back in the 70's - the mad scientist movie. The story has the mad scientist abduct college students to use in his experiments where he is trying to create a crossbreed of human and plant; with his failed subjects being handed over to a circus to be used in their freak show.

This could be described as Frankenstein meets Freaks, with quite a heavy emphasis on the latter 30's Tod Browning classic. It even goes so far as to basically recreate scenes from that film, as well as finding roles for several actual sideshow freaks. To that end, we have a human skeleton, a human pincushion, the pretzel boy, Popeye (i.e. He really can pop his eyes out!), the frog boy, alligator skin woman and a good old bearded lady. We even get a section where we see an exhibition featuring these performers, so its pretty exploitative while being somewhat fascinating at the same time. Acting honours go to the ever-reliable pair, Donald Pleasence and future Dr Who Tom Baker; with the former going through the motions and given little to do, other than feed cute bunnies to giant carnivorous plants, while Tom Baker has a much more rounded part as a deformed self-loathing henchman afflicted with acromegaly. The story eventually has one of Pleasence's creations running amok through the town - it's a rubber-suited wonder which is half-man/half Venus flytrap, a man/plant, or as I prefer to call him, a mlant. There is a fair bit of things to like in this one, even if it does become increasing less interesting in its final third. Look out too, for the impressive opening credits sequence which features some nicely executed time-lapse photography plant action.

Bye-Bye Bunny...

[azathothpwiggins · 22 November 2021]

THE FREAKMAKER (aka: THE MUTATIONS) is the charming tale of Professor Nolter (Donald Pleasence), who is determined to create a human-plant hybrid. This means that a few people have to disappear, reappearing on Nolter's lab table.

Meanwhile, a freak show thrives next door with a steady flow of new, highly unusual attractions.

Tom Baker is fantastic as Nolter's faithful henchman, Lynch.

If you have a passion for the wonderfully weird, then FREAKMAKER belongs on your watchlist...

Deadly Plants

[boblipton · 4/10 · 4 December 2021]

Donald Pleasance is a Very Cherman professor of biology at an American campus. At home in the family mansion, he is conducting experiments to reunite the animal and plant kingdoms, so humans can live on air, and not go anywhere, leaving them time to think about how to solve problems. Like termite, I suppose. Meanwhile, a thoroughly nasty Tom Baker runs a freak show.

There are references to Tod Browning's FREAKS, and Pleasance's great achievement so far is to have devised a mobile, carnivorous plant beast with suckers. Like most movies of this sort, it's probably thoroughly muddled, or perhaps my attention wandered for five minutes at a time, while I wondered why Jack Cardiff, arguably the finest Technicolor cameraman ever, was directing, and directing clunkers like this.

Well, it was his last time as a director, and he went back to the work that he did well. With Michael Dunn and Jill Haworth. Now, there's a pair to lead a movie!

Gruesome, grotesque, grim British horror which must have slipped through on the Censor's day off.

[Wilbur-10 · 7/10 · 13 November 2000]

This is a totally bizarre British horror film which deserves cult status of the highest order - I can't believe that this didn't have problems with the censor, it is a disturbing, nasty piece of work and should undoubtedly have cult status.

'The Mutations' has Donald Pleasence as a Frankenstein-inspired scientist, Prof Nolter, who in-between his lecturing is trying to fuse humans with plantlife, to create a creature which has the strengths of both species. The nature of the film is introduced early, with a travelling funfair complete with freaks ( played by real-life freaks as in Tod Brownings early classic ), and a hideously ugly normal-sized man, who moonlights as Prof Nolter's assistant.

The film has so many points of interest its difficult to know where to start - the similarities to 'Freaks' are acknowledged with a feast scene which includes the line "He's one of us - we accept you". The freaks are also shown to have more humanity than the other characters, although they do turn on their tormenter in the end, in a scene similar to the climactic chase in 'Freaks'.

There are also ideas and scenes close to the French classic 'Eyes without a Face'; Pleasance portrays a character similar to Pierre Brasseur's mad doctor, both living in a secluded mansion complete with pack of mad dogs.

As if all this were not enough, we are also treated to Julie Ege as the screaming heroine, showing of her acting limitations and bodily curves very nicely - special applause for the nude bath scene.

'The Mutations' is a real shocker, which viewed today has a strong impact - far more so than more famous 'shocking' films, like 'The Devils' and the earlier 'Peeping Tom', both of which viewed now seem relatively tame.

While not raising the film to any artistic height - it is a cheap 'B' Movie in all production areas - the film should really be seen by all film fans, and given its deserved status as a heavyweight of the gutter-horror genre.

An overall poor movie with a couple of interesting scenes

[Snake-666 · 5/10 · 28 July 2003]

Donald Pleasance stars as Professor Nolter in this sci-fi/horror as a mad-scientist who, in between lecturing at a local university, is conducting bizarre experiments as he tries to bridge the gap between human beings and plant life. To aid him in his devilish research he uses Lynch (Tom Baker), a hideously deformed man who runs a carnival freak show, to obtain for him young men and women to perform his experiments on using the seemingly empty promise of altering the way Lynch looks for the better.

I saw this one last night on Sky Cinema and have to say I was a little disappointed. The premise, although outlandish (though horror is geared towards the outlandish is it not?), seemed quite interesting. Unfortunately, this movie was poorly executed and rather slow-moving which made the movie difficult to watch. ‘The Mutations' has some interesting parts though and is worth watching if only for the ‘Freak Show' part way through featuring some quite disgusting acts.

The acting seemed rather wooden from everybody, including Donald Pleasance, which hampered the film even more. The only performance really noteworthy was from Michael Dunn in the role of Burns, the loveable guardian to the other acts in the freak show. What really was interesting was how to begin with the `freaks' (I really do hate using that term to describe these people as in fact they are just in some way handicapped) seemed like they were menacing characters but over the course of the movie we were exposed to more humanity coming from then than any other character in the film – one of director Jack Cardiff's few achievements in this movie.

In the end ‘The Mutations' becomes a barely average sci-fi/horror movie with little redeeming moments and many silly looking costumes. The direction was standard fare for films of this quality and it seems a shame that a great actor like Donald Pleasance was tied up in this, especially as his performance was undeniably lacklustre. The final ten minutes or so seemed hashed together very quickly and were thoroughly unsatisfying though did feature one good effect. I personally don't recommend this film but fans of sci-fi B-movies may enjoy it as it seemed to be made with heavy influence from the similar movies of the fifties and sixties. Though not exactly alike I would personally recommend ‘The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)' over this movie. My rating for ‘The Mutations' 5/10.

Great movie

[dr_gonzo · 7/10 · 21 February 2006]

Ignore the uptight weirdo who spends 10,000 words bashing this movie. It's very enjoyable as long as you're a fan of the genre. With many gratuitous LSD references and a real live carnival freak show, how can you go wrong?

If you thought Swamp Thing was too intellectual and The Fly was just too gross, this movie might definitely be for you. One of many human-cross-animal or plant movies, what causes this one to stand out is the overall creepiness of Donald Pleasance and, basically, the entire plot (what you can make of it).

Time-lapse photography inserted for no particular reason just adds to the fun.

The people who made this movie must have had a blast and so will you as long as you're not some amateur wannabe film critic. Sheesh!

Doesn't quite fulfil it's potential.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 31 January 2011]

The Mutations is set in in London during the early 70's where Bridget (Olga Anthony) goes to University, after a biology class taught by the ever so slightly mad Professor Nolter (Donald Pleasence) she decides to walk home on her own through a park. Bridget is followed & kidnapped by the horribly deformed Lynch (Tom Baker) who part owns & runs a travelling freak show in which he was once an exhibit, Lynch has a deal with Professor Nolter to supply him with fresh young specimens to experiment on in return for Nolter curing his horrible disfigurement. A group of Bridget's friends happen to pay a visit to Lynch's freak show attraction & spot Bridget's unique medallion around the neck of a dwarf named Burns (Michael Dunn) who is rather vague about where he got & since Bridget has been missing for days her friends put two & two together & decide to investigate further. They discover Professor Nolter's insane plan to create a part man part plant mutation & find out that his hideous failed experiments becomes part of the freak show...

Also known under the title The Freakmaker & apparently Dr. of Evil this British production was directed by Oscar (& another whole host of awards) winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff & is maybe the least likely credit on his CV which spans over seventy years! I am in two minds about The Mutations, on the one hand it's a sleazy little mad scientist monster film with added seediness although on the other hand it's rather dull at times & lacks focus or much of a story. The script should zip along but somehow manages to drag at times, I mean we have a horror film featuring mad scientists, grotesque failed experiments, plant creatures, bizarre medical experiments, a circus of freaks, kidnapped young ladies, murder, betrayal & a London prostitute who charges £2! Boy, those were the days, those were the days... I mean two bloody quid wouldn't buy you anything now but I digress. The Mutations should be more fun than it is, the story is weak & takes itself a bit too seriously with Professor Nolter's reasoning behind his apparently revolutionary experiments vague to say the least. Once he perfects his plant creature then what exactly? Surely that laser beam to reverse the state of decay would be more useful? I mean no food would then ever go off or go rotten again & could be kept indefinitely & solve the world's food shortage, right? There's no one central character to root for or get behind or follow the story through with either, Professor Nolter pops up occasionally & Lynch gets a bit of screen time & even has a touching moment when he visits a prostitute & ask's for something a little extra which she charges him an extra pound for! The freaks aren't shown as the tragic character's they are but as oddities to stare at while none of Bridget's friends really comes to the fore either as they all stay on the fringes of the action.

There is quite a bit of fascinating time lapse photography of plants growing, decaying & roots burrowing underground but it feels like it belongs in a nature documentary rather than a horror film. There are a few monsters with decent make-up effects including a gross Venus Fly Trap man who digests Professor Nolter at the end. The early 70's London locations are surprisingly drab, the fashions are a bit dated & you definitely couldn't have sex with a prostitute for £2 any more but The Mutations does have a rather sleazy atmosphere. Real freaks were used in the carnival scene apparently, from the bearded lady to the human pin cushion & from the Alligator woman & Frog boy to a guy who can pop his eyeballs out of their sockets.

Filmed in London the production values are decent enough, surprisingly for such an esteemed cinematographer Cardiff makes a fairly dull looking film although there one or two moments. The acting is alright, Pleasence looks bored & unconvinced by the script, soon to be Doctor Who Tom Baker is almost unrecognisable under layers of latex make-up while most of the young female cast get naked at one point or another.

The Mutations is an oddity of a film really, from sideshow curiosity to mad scientist horror to 70's sleaze it never quite decides what it wants to be & suffers because of it but there's enough to keep you from being bored & I liked it overall even if it could have been even better.

This one must be seen to believe

[niels-4 · 7/10 · 24 November 1998]

This film is a definite cult-classic and a follow up to Tod Brownings FREAKS. Perhaps a bit poorly made, but with real freaks like the Alligator Woman, Pop Eye and many more. Julie Ege, Norwegian scream queen, is starring and making the best of it. If you ever want to see the definite B-film from British cinema during the Seventies: This is the one to see. The film takes place at a travelling carnival which also features a freak show. Donald Pleasance is the mad professor who mutates plants with humans and then puts them on display. The results are horrific and so are the monsters that looks like a mixture of broccoli and humans. The film is odd to say the least and the actors try very hard to make it believable. This is a film with a strange mixture of science, horror and drama. It moves along a bit slow, but you won't be bored. The last of the real "freak films".

A forgotten, murky, misbegotten monstrosity.

[HenryHextonEsq · 3/10 · 22 July 2003]

Now what were they thinking...? This film is an outright one-off, granted, but a disastrous one. Little thought seems to have gone in, and when there is thought, it is reflected in a composer's score that transcends and barely fits the images.

Let's not contemplate the script at length; word or narrative craftsmen are resoundingly not at work here. Unexplained, irrelevant scenes clutter the film's third-hand B-movie premise. For example, whither the 'dancing instructor'…? Lynch's startling, vulnerable scene with the prostitute is bizarrely isolated, and unfortunately not given emotional context in the rest of this peculiarly ramshackle film. Ethical question-marks starkly rear into view with the use – exploitation, rather – of real-life freaks in the 'fictitious' side-show. A freak show is effectively shown for five minutes of the film's duration, and it is profoundly unsettling viewing: seedy, dank, sickening; one really wonders what went on behind-the-scenes here… This film was made in 1973; there is no method to this display, beyond the flexing of cheap 'shock tactics'. As Brian says, "I didn't know these shows still existed". Clearly in the seedy world of 1970s low-rent British film, they did.

Very little in this film seems other than fake, besides, obviously, the actuality of the 'freaks'' 'abnormalities'. But there is little obvious entertainment value in the mad-scientist straddling, penthouse-peopled 'England' of "The Mutations". This is the worse considering what appears to be an effort at naturalism in the opening, which pins things down in staid, dully scientific terms. Need it be said that Pleasence is an embarrassment here? He is clearly on auto-pilot, giving little effort in what he surely knows is a farrago of a film. How utterly predictable that his dull professor is adorned with a Germanic accent? How stultifyingly insipid to model Nolter's delivery on that of a dry automaton? This spectacularly dull performance – oxymoron intended – sets the tone, and his oratory barely extends beyond the front rows of the London University lecture theatre. Ever more bizarrely, this lacklustre lecturer and stolid Sice-head is described as 'sexy', in pronouncedly giddy tones, by one of his students. This Lauren is something of an incessant, beaming blonde with fetching pigtails, invested, intentionally or otherwise, with vacuousness by Jill Haworth. What mostly lingers in the mind is her odd relish in watching the freak show, as if it were somehow a heart-warming spectacle.

She just about convinces as a student, at least in physical appearance, but she gives no impression that she reads Bio-Chemistry at degree level. Furthermore, Scott Antony's Tony is akin to any old token japer from the world of dispiriting 1970s British films (TM); has he wandered in from a depressingly small-fry juvenile sex comedy? The group of 'students' is rounded out with the Scandinavian curves of Julie Ege - bland and given tokenistic Leary invocations - and a girl who is quickly dispatched by the IDS-dull Pleasence. Oh, and did I forget our dear old Brian? Brad Harris 'essays', or rather phones in, an American 'scholar' who seems more like a redundant detective or sidelined action-hero. He has no real business being there, and yet somehow appears to have picked up Hedi as a girlfriend within a few minutes. This 'Sturdy Oak' archetype single-handedly 'saves the day' at the end, in place of the hapless students; admittedly, Haworth's simpering, would-be 'cool chick' seems unduly discarded, but would have been rendered useless and screaming by the chauvinistic script. One ought to reflect whether she was actually the only real student, as when Tony asks for entry to see the 'Lizard Woman' act, he specifically asks for "three and a half tickets" when four are there... Such pointless but amusing asides aside, Tom Baker is passable as a deformed ruffian and lunatic called Lynch. Hopefully no child fan of "Dr Who" ever stumbled upon this film, hearing of his presence: they'd be scarred for life! He overacts extravagantly in the "He's One of Us!" scene, which puts Tod Browning's similar scene in "Freaks" through the wringer; the freaks are played for all their 'weirdness' and treated as sinister; see also the inexplicable, brutish and farcical fog-drenched demise of Lynch, and indeed two of them stalking and capturing Olga Anthony's willowy unfortunate.

Other than for reasons of historical or academic study, I'd advise people not to see this appalling spectacle. However, there is a sole, sublime saving grace: the musical soundtrack. This majestic and incredibly innovative free-jazz music is on an altogether different plane to the squalid, murky seediness of the images. It is almost as if the soundtrack was a record that has been superimposed over the film – and it should be noted that Basil Kirchin drew some of its themes from his ongoing "Worlds Within Worlds" series. Merely the time-lapse Open University-esquire opening photography tallies with the alternately sedate and barnstorming strains of Kirchin's music. There are high pitched string-instrument stings redolent of plant life, that periodically score 'tension', but generally, the score is of another world, and utterly un-telegraphed. It should be released on CD in full; while this film is forgotten, this music should live in its own context, in its interpolating sedate deathliness and cacophonous blaring.

The opening to the film indeed is mercifully sedate and horn-rimmed-spectacled, in comparison to the ghastliness to come. Eastmancolour skies and dappled, felt-like plants, seem of another age, backed by the awe-inducing music. But... well, things ebb, completely… in all manner of exploitative, numb-skulled directions. To think that the lens-man of "The Red Shoes", Jack Cardiff, actually directs this... For me, the distasteful idiocy of this 'contemporary' 1973 film is ultimately exemplified by the smug, complacent face of Scott Antony; when the Monkey Woman enters, he tastelessly jokes "all sounds pretty hairy to me!" and in reply Jill Haworth's kittenish features crease into a fawning laughter.

The only balm is the music.

This film might be okay for weirdos

[hexen53 · 9/10 · 28 August 2002]

How on earth have I never seen this film before? I watched it tonight 'cause there was nothing else on Cable (again) - lucky me!

It started with some time-lapse film of plant-life and looked like a programme from the Open University - but then the soundtrack signalled something strange was happening...

"Mutations" owes a lot to Tod Browning's "Freaks" but offers loads more: some nice 70's nudity; plants that eat live rabbits (why not pet food?); dialogue that mentions "cloning dinosaurs"; a soundtrack that judders from spaced-out, slowed-down, phased bass to free form jazz. This is a minestrone of madness with some nice inconsitencies in the plot. Great!

Tom Baker was obviously heavily influenced by his role in this film and took most of the wardrobe with him for Dr Who!

Bizarre, original and freaky

[zombie-41 · 7/10 · 10 July 2000]

I stumbled across this video at a pawnshop called "Cash Converters" at my town center. Once I blew off the dust I decided to buy it on a whim. I had never heard of it but its £2 price tag led me to believe I had nothing to loose. It now sits proudly in my horror collection. This film is in a word, freaky. It makes use of real life sideshow freaks to tell a disturbing story about a mad scientist and his ungodly experiments to create a plant man. The various mistakes that occur are put to use at the friendly local fair. The only problem this film has is the rather pathetic effects used when real freaks are unavailable. However, Donald's performance is as ever wonderful and the film maintains a creepy atmosphere. There is also some great titty shots of voluptuous young seventies women. Well recommended for horror fans (if you can track down a copy like I did).

Wow

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 24 September 2022]

We all have dreams but Professor Nolter's (Donald Pleasence) is to get to the next level of evolution by crossbreeding Venus flytraps with students from his class, which seems like the worst of ideas but hey, I don't have tenure. When he's done with them, he sells them as freaks to Mr. Lynch (a pre-Dr. Who Tom Baker) who has quite the collection in his sideshow, including real acts Willie "Popeye" Ingram, "Pretzel Boy" Hugh Baily, Félix Duarte the frog boy, Alligator Girl Esther Blackmon and Wild Wild West star Michael Dunn.

Jack Cardiff was mostly known for his work as a cinematogapher but as a directed he was nominated for Best Director for 1960s Sons and Lovers and also made Girl On a Motorcycle. Here, he combines strange time lapse sequences, stop motion, interesting practical effects and a fantastic color scheme to great effect, taking what could be a one-note rehash of Freaks and making something if not good then definitely interesting.

Brad Harris, the star of this movie, mostly worked in Italian movies, such as playing Capt. Tom Rowland in the Kommisar X series, as well as appearing as King Augeias in Luigi Cozzi's Hercules. Former Penthouse Pet Julie Ege was in The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Finally, Jill Haworth was in Tower of Evil and the TV movie freakout Home for the Holidays.

Tom Baker rules!

[spoono01 · 5 March 2004]

Anytime Tom Baker graced the screen his characters were always memorable. Here he plays a freak with a self loathing that must be seen to be believed. The story concerns a scientist who tries to turn people into plants. He succeeds with a cross between human and venus fly trap. The makeup isn't great, but it does the job. First time director Jack Cardiff made a great little horror film. Donald Pleasence plays the doctor. I saw this on Cinemax during the 90's. Basil Kirchin from Abominable Dr. Phibes did the music. I wish this was out on DVD. Columbia Pictures has done worse.

Shoddy yet somewhat creepy.

[gridoon · 4/10 · 7 February 2002]

Mostly dry and boring horror film, with shoddy special effects - yet quite creepy if you let your imagination do the film's work for you. It all seems quite disturbing on paper (mutated man-plants, sideshow "freaks", etc.), but the film's only real merit is another good performance by the ever-reliable Donald Pleasence. For a genuinely engrossing and dramatic "mutation picture", I recommend the original "Fly" (1958). (**)

It's a Hybrid between Frankenstein and Freaks

[BaronBl00d · 7/10 · 20 July 2013]

Well, to keep the puns going, this grows on you after awhile. Really, it does. While I had never heard of it before, I was pleasantly surprised to find this film about a British bio-engineer/professor mixed up with a carnival and who uses bodies(inexplicably) to help with his experimentation to create an animal/plant race of beings. We get a Frankenstein type film, but when you add the oddities(most REAL) from the carnival - and who create scenes eerily reminiscent of Tod Browning's Freaks - we get so much more. While undeniably cheaply made - the special effects are ridiculous as is the final "invention" of man and plant, The Mutations(I saw it under the title The Freakmaker)does have some truly jarring scenes. The carnival freaks in this movie are allowed to act - and, quite frankly, are the scariest thing in this film as they lynch Lynch(played nicely by a heavily made-up Tom Baker - make-up here is quite good too!) - a deformed man who wants to be 'normal" whilst distancing himself from his freak brethren by calling them freaks and himself normal. Needless to say things do not work out well for him. This is the subplot of the film but I found it more interesting than the story of Donald Pleasance working with plants and creating some starved half-animal half-plant creature the size of a human. Pleasence is good as he always is - but really is given little to do EXCEPT for his wonderful lecture at the beginning of the film. There we are also introduced to four students(later Brad Harris will join them)who will come to know the doctor's work firsthand. The only thing you need to know about these four is that three of them are HOT, beautiful girls: blonde Jill Haworth, sensuous Olga Anthony, and the incredibly stunning Julie Ege - we also get to see them in various states of disrobe - a MAJOR highlight. Harris is OK, but it really is the real-life "freaks" that caught my eye. Michael Dunn plays the dwarf running the carnival - and I think he gives his best performance in film. I always thought he was a pretty good actor that went beyond his stereotyped image. This unfortunately was one of his last films as he died at the age of 38. The Mutations is a solid film with many undesirable elements but does, in my opinion, scare - why? Well, that will be for you to determine.

Not much to get excited about

[adriangr · 4/10 · 29 June 2009]

"The Mutations" is a middling, mostly forgettable horror movie from the mid 70's. Set in trendy London, it tells the tale of a carnival freak show who run a sideline in kidnapping innocent victims to be the subject of evil experiments! That's all the plot there is, really, and the film doesn't really do a lot with it. It just goes through the motions of showing the freak show, showing some victims get nabbed, and then showing the expected climax. The film has several very silly elements to it. All the kidnapped youngsters are from the same college, and in fact they are all from a single group of four friends! The experiments themselves are very vaguely explained, but they lead to very dramatic mutated monsters.

As a London resident I also found a lot to enjoy in the locations...is Battersea Park (the location of the carnival in the movie) really such a dangerous foggy wilderness as it is depicted here? (Maybe it was in the 1970's...). And the exterior location for the students college is actually The Royal Albert Hall! They should be so lucky! Some good points are: Donald Pleasance does his usual good job as a softly spoken but deadly scientist. And Tom Baker does a great job, unrecognisable in ugly face make-up as the scientist's deformed assistant. And the monsterized victims look quite fun, and there's one grisly scene in which a walking plant-thing drains the life out of someone. Although check out a big goof here, where a really big gap between the monster's head and chest suit shows off the actors pink neck in between - which spoils an otherwise effective moment! There are also a few scenes that showcase some real-life "freaks" used in the film, which can't help but seem exploitative. They do get a chance to act, though, in the additional sub-plot in which the freaks rebel against the one among them who is "the real monster" - there are heavy echoes of Todd Browning's famous "Freaks" here.

To sum up, it's not really very memorable. The whole story is rushed through at great speed, there's no depth to any of the characters (no time!), and everything seems pretty small scale. The scientist's lab is also filmed at Oakley Court, which stood in for a spooky mansion in dozens of British horror movies filmed around this time, such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, And Now The Screaming Starts, Girly, and loads more, so personally, I have seen this place on celluloid far too often!

Criminally little known British shocker

[Stevieboy666 · 7/10 · 2 June 2018]

Not one of my fellow horror loving friends have seen or even know of this movie. I saw it on TV in the 80's or 90's, got a copy on VHS,later sold it but then find myself buying another one as it doesn't appear to be easily available on disc (it really does deserve a release). The late, great Donald Pleasence is a brilliant but crazed scientist working on mutating humans with plants (in his lab he has a laughably bad rabbit eating plant!). He is aided by the hideously disfigured Tom Baker (of Dr Who fame), who runs a circus freak show. Many real freaks (probably an incorrect word these days) were employed, in addition to obviously fake ones. No attempt is made to hide the fact that this was in part inspired by the original 1932 classic "Freaks", to the point where the "one of us" line is used. Add to the mix nudity, 1970's London locations, LSD references, time lapse photography sequences, a few amusing gaffs and a pretty haunting musical score, this is an enjoyable slice of British exploitation. Not to everybody's taste, for sure, but this film deserves to be better known.

Hold on to Your Artichokes

[evanston_dad · 2/10 · 29 October 2008]

Here at IMDb it's called "The Mutations"; the version I saw was called "The Freakmaker." No matter what title you give it, the result is one pretty bad movie.

Donald Pleasance slums mightily in the role of a college professor/mad scientist whose ultimate dream is to create a race of half plant/half human creatures. He enlists the help of a horribly deformed owner of a carnie freak show to find human subjects for him to experiment on. These subjects end up looking like artichokes and cabbages, and are played by actors wearing rubbery costumes that don't look remotely realistic. Meanwhile, a group of students begin to unravel the mystery of the professor's doings, while the members of the carnie freak show (played by actual circus sideshow members, in an homage to Todd Browning's 1932 classic "Freaks") become increasingly angered by their boss's abuse and take revenge.

This sounds like the makings of a juicy cult classic, one that if nothing else would be in the "so-bad-it's-good" category. Indeed, this is why I watched it. Let me save you the time and trouble of finding out on your own that it's not so-bad-it's-good -- it's just bad. Bad as in fairly boring, poorly acted, poorly written. Much of it doesn't make any sense. It's almost unbelievable that Jack Cardiff, a film artist with a number of prestigious credits to his name, directed this. This is the sort of thing my wife and I might make using a video camera and some friends. Actually, I think we could make a better movie than this.

And am I the only one to wonder why the color in the film is so bright as to actually hurt my eyes at times?

Grade: D

You may think you're normal, but you are all products of mutation.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 18 November 2020]

Tod Brownings' "Freaks" gets reinvented for the hip 1970s with a mad scientist angle added. Donald Pleasence plays Dr. Nolter, an insane scientist / professor who has mad ideas about breeding humans with plants to create some sort of "superior" being. Tom Baker co-stars as Lynch, a sideshow proprietor - himself very deformed - who procures victims for Nolters' experiments. Nolter has made many empty promises that he can reverse Lynchs' deformities, which is what keeps Lynch going. Some of Nolters' students get suspicious when friends from their little clique go missing.

"The Freakmaker", a.k.a. "The Mutations", has enough twisted and weird stuff in it to make it fairly effective as a horror film. However, Pleasence (who is only here for the pay check) is clearly just going through the motions, and the story unfortunately plays a little flat at times. Had it had more energy and style, it could have been something special. As it is, though, it displays a certain creepy ingenuity in terms of effects, and the fact that it employed many real-life human "freaks" (an "alligator woman", a "monkey woman", a man who's not nicknamed "Popeye" for nothing, etc.) gives it potency, just like Brownings' film did so memorably in the 1930s. And the fate of Nolters' victims is properly disturbing. This was certainly a very interesting directing gig for esteemed, Oscar-winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff.

Other memorable aspects include the VERY offbeat musical score by Basil Kirchin, and the fascinating time-lapse photography by Ken Middleham, who supervised the insect sequences for "Bug" (1975) and "Phase IV". The performances are variable (Julie Ege, Brad Harris, Scott Antony, Michael Dunn, and Jill Haworth co-star), with Baker and Dunn doing the best work. Lynch, despite his physical appearance, feels NO kinship with the freaks at his circus, feeling that somehow he's "better" than them. This is, by and large, NOT a sympathetic character.

Overall, "The Freakmaker" shows genre fans a fairly good time, especially when it comes to the big finale which does hearken right back to "Freaks".

Many years later, Rob Zombie sampled some of Nolters' dialogue for his tune "Rock and Roll (In a Black Hole)".

Seven out of 10.

This Film Is Sick

[Theo Robertson · 2/10 · 8 May 2002]

Original is not a word to describe THE MUTATIONS . To sum up its plot it`s a hybrid between a mad scientist film and FREAKS. Unoriginality is not enough to condemn it of course , but what makes THE MUTATIONS a truly terrible film is the fact that it`s so sickening.

When Tod Browning made FREAKS in the 1930s disabilty and deformatity were I imagine treated differently in those days. Not so in the 1970s when the concept of a traveling " freakshow " wouldn`t have drawn an audience. Indeed it`s highly unlikely any council would have allowed it to take place on the grounds of taste due to a public outcry. There`s no way I`d pay to go and see that and I feel disgusted I watched a film where people with real deformaties are used in the name of entertainment. Perhaps the saddest one was " The skeleton woman " who looked like she`d just been rescued from a Nazi death camp.

*****SPOILERS ( though how can I spoil your " enjoyment " of this filth is beyond me ) ***** I`ve outlined a good enough reason not to watch it , but may I also point out that this film is also extremely sloppy and underdeveloped in terms of script and production too. For example the hero gets turned into a man eating plant and for no reason consumes a drunken passerby. I say for no reason because he can still control his human emotions which he demonstrated in the previous scene by talking to his girlfriend and demonstrates it again at the end by attacking the villain in his lab. And this action scene seems to have been directed, edited and had make- up artists by people who were too untalented to have worked on the worst school play production . Still it could have been worse , if the rest of the film is anything to go by the production crew might have dug up a decomposed corpse and used that for the villain`s death scene. And get ready for a final shock plot twist at the end though how can anyone be shocked by the final scene when we`ve already seen exploitation of the worst sort leaves me pondering.

You`re probably asking yourself why I decided to watch THE MUTATIONS all the way through instead of switching it off in disgust ? Make no mistake this film did disgust and disturb me. Well it did star a pre-fame Tom Baker as Donald Pleasence`s henchman . I can watch anything with Baker in it and to see him play a nasty piece of work does have a certain novelty value Check out VAULT OF TERROR ) , but even that didn`t stop wanting to swith off the TV frequently. And for my sins I had to get into a warm soapy bath afterwards and scrub myself clean , That`s how much THE MUTATIONS disgusted me

Grimy, effective English shocker

[fertilecelluloid · 8/10 · 12 December 2005]

Grimy, effective English shocker from Jack Cardiff is not a remake of Browning's "Freaks", but it does recreate several sequences from the 30's classic and uses some real, highly impressive freaks (to its credit). The tabletop scene, which introduced the "One of us!" mantra, is here, as is the scene in which the freaks turn on one of their own. One of the little people in this version even produces a threatening switchblade, mirroring the original.

Often titled "The Mutations", a title I prefer, the film is entertaining and filled with the great stuff of horror films -- deformities, a mad scientist, a sleazy carnival, half man/half monsters looking for love, a fiery conclusion.

The film feels like Gary Sherman's "Raw Meat" at times with its 70's dialog and haircuts, and the female characters wear a little Women's Lib on their shoulders, again reflecting the period. But what really distinguishes the film is director Jack Cardiff's effort to make some of his most hideous freak creations sympathetic. In particular, Tom Baker (TV's best Dr. Who, in my opinion) is gruesomely tragic as Mr. Lynch, a facially disfigured monster who begs mad scientist Professor Nolter (Donald Pleasence) to find a "cure" for his infliction. A scene where Lynch visits a prostitute and begs her to say "I love you" to him (for an extra pound) is quite touching..."I've got a nice selection of obscenities," she tells him when he initially asks her to say "things" to him.

The film is a rich tapestry and its theme is summed up in a couple of lines of dialog: "We are all a product of mutations. We mutated to survive." Plot involves Nolter's efforts to forcibly mutate local lasses and lads who end up as monsters running the streets in search of blood. The sideshow of a local carnival provides the perfect hiding place for some of the good Professor's rejected experiments. A particularly chilling scene involves one of the film's protagonists discovering a missing girl in a cage.

The make-up effects are more than adequate for their time and disturbingly gruesome. The score by Basil Kirchin, which combines animalistic sound effects with traditional strings, adds immeasurably to the atmosphere. Great time lapse photography of plants, too, cut to ultra-creepy music.

I like this accomplished horror film very much.

Fairly solid and fun, though often too restrained

[I_Ailurophile · 7/10 · 21 September 2022]

Is this movie not generous? Loving stock footage and time lapse photography of fungi, flora, and fauna over the opening credits segues into a monologue that lays bare the themes and ideas that will propel the narrative - a seeming throwback to the sensibilities of 50s B-movies. We're then launched immediately into the plot with no substantial further exposition; the audience is meant to learn the story only as it develops. Our eyes are greeted with the always welcome visage of Donald Pleasence; our ears are treated to the wonderful original score of Basil Kirchin, at times harshly atmospheric or abrasively discordant but always outstanding. Even if it's not the most purely essential of pictures, 'The freakmaker,' also known as 'The mutations,' easily piques one's curiosity early on and keeps our attention well enough.

The plot explores the familiar space of an enterprising scientist conducting experiments outside the bounds of ethical considerations, though I think the notions laid out in Edward Mann and Robert D. Weinbach's screenplay are arguably a bit more well fleshed out than in similar titles. In short order the story to come might be predictable in the broad strokes, but it's still suitably well written and entertaining. It helps that the production design and art direction are so strong and enticing, to say nothing of the hair and makeup work, costume design, stunts and effects, and the cast that includes real sideshow performers. As ever when such a title dallies with such fringes of society it rides a bit of a line in spotlighting disabilities and illnesses as entertainment in and of themselves, though of course it's clear that the performers assembled for this have owned and embraced their unique qualities.

'The freakmaker' carries itself with a measure of restraint; for much of the length it declines utmost active realization of the horror or sci-fi elements, and they feel more thematic than actual or visceral. It does, after all, have a fair bit in common with its spiritual predecessors of 15-20 years prior (or arguably hearkening back all the way to genre flicks of the early 30s), only with storytelling and film-making that generally feels more fluid and natural. This isn't the type of genre flick to immediately reach out and grab our attention; the fun is more in the overarching airs of the concepts on hand, and how they're woven together. For lack of urgency and aspects to help this truly stand out, there's little especial need to watch - but it's still quite enjoyable.

Rounded out with a couple other recognizable names in the cast (Julia Ege, Tom Baker), and capably guided with Jack Cardiff's experienced direction, this is pretty decent overall. The biggest trouble I see is simply that the feature maintains such an even-keeled tone, scarcely achieving any major sense of dynamics or vibrancy until within the last 20 minutes or so. A bit more striking emphasis on the horror facet would have been all that was required to take this to another level. Nevertheless, more so than not the production is rather solid, softly scratching the itch for a satisfying genre romp, and the ending is a cheeky delight. Unless you're a huge fan of someone involved I don't know that this is a must-see by any means, but if you have the opportunity to watch 'The freakmakers,' it's a good time and worth 90 minutes.

Mad Scientist makes Giant Human Venus Fly Trap

[ZombiGurl · 5/10 · 26 March 2012]

Freakmaker opens with a lot of time lapsed film about plant life, it almost feels like a nature show, but then the creepy 70s horror music starts. We then see Donald Pleasance playing a Mad Doctor that is obsessed with trying to splice together Human DNA with plant material. The Doctor reminds me of the Evil Dr. in Eyes Without a Face, complete with living in a secluded mansion with a pack of mad barking dogs. He has an assistant, Mr. Lynch, that is deformed and keeps promising him a cure if only he will help the Dr. with his freakish research. Mr Lynch is played by Tom Baker who goes on to play the Doctor in the Doctor Who series. The Mad Dr. also keeps some sort strange plant in his laboratory that he feeds live Rabbits to.

Freakmaker seems to borrow a lot from Tod Browning's 1932 Freaks. Mr. Lynch runs the carnival and gets his victims for the Dr.'s experiments from the Carnival. The Carnival has a side show showing various "Freaks", I am pretty sure these were real people with birth deformities. I am sure this must have been a controversial decision to use real people with deformities instead using make up, but I don't think this movie is one of the Video Nasties from the 70s. I wonder how it managed to get past the censors? There is even a dinner scene very similar to Freaks where they declare "he's one of us". Eventually the Freaks decide to turn on one of their own, also similar to a scene in Freaks.

Even though Donald Pleasance and Tom Baker give good performances in their roles, there really just isn't much of a plot here. The special FX are pretty silly looking with a giant rubber suited "Mutation" that looks like a giant human Venus Fly Trap. Most of the film is slow moving but it is still entertaining in that strange psychedelic 70s way.