Matt
Mitler returns as reluctant hero Harry Trent in Brett Piper’s superior sequel
to Battle for the Lost Planet. This
time, Harry is more of a Mad Max-style hero, roaming through wasteland looking
for gas. He stumbles upon a girl named
Fox (Alex Pirnie) whose sister has been kidnapped by mutants who are trying to
propagate their race with any human woman they can get their hands on. Together, they set out to rescue her.
Battle for the Lost Planet was a marvel of low budget ingenuity. This one ups the ante considerably; to the point where it looks just as good (and in some instances, even better) than its higher-budgeted contemporaries. It’s crammed to the gills with great stop-motion monsters, fun special effects, excellent mutant make-up, and gorgeous matte paintings. Just when you think it can’t get any better, Cameron Mitchell shows up as the villain!
Even
when you can spot the seams in the production, there’s no denying the DIY charm
Piper brings to the table. I’ve sat
through many of these Mad Max rip-offs before, so I appreciate one that
does a lot with very little. Mitler once
again makes for a fine hero and carries the film on his very capable shoulders. Also, the large assembly of
monsters and mutants more than makes it a better pairing for The 31 Days of Horror-Ween than
the original.
Like
Battle, it runs out of steam before it reaches the finish line, but it’s an
impressive leap forward for Piper in just about every way. In only two
years’ time he was able to make a movie that looks much bigger and more
professional than the original. Even
though it’s much more polished than its predecessor, it still contains the same
spunky charm. Not only that, it's just flat-out entertaining. In a month full of forgettable horror movies, Mutant War is a breath of fresh air.
AKA: Mutant Men Want Pretty Women.
No comments:
Post a Comment