It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

MUTATOR aka TIME OF THE BEAST (1989) & PROJECT: METALBEAST aka METALBEAST (1995). Two *very* similar B-movies. A dubious choice for this double feature, perhaps. But I know I'm most definitely not the only one around here who would voluntarily watch rubbish like...-----I had no idea I already saw "Mutator" before, once upon a full moon, until I started watching it. Yes, it's that forgettable. Brion James plays an unlikely character (for his likes, at least): A friendly ex-scientist turned custodian who at the end, saves the day. The creature costume is mildly amusing (with some parts of it having developed more cat-like features and others still human). But the creature action is severely lacking in this tedious film. Only film to my knowledge to ever feature a Humanoid Cat-Beast Mutant.Yes, "Time Of The Beast" (or if you want to call it "Mutator", fine) is a pretty bad movie, but actually, it's not bad enough. You can't even make fun of it, because it's just dull. The only thing you could watch it for, is seeing Brion James do nothing, really. And for the titular beast, of course, which doesn't do much either, except for killing people off-screen (except for one girl who gets her head smashed against a grid - nothing special).Funny thing is, in the plot they mention 'the offspring' numerous times, indicating there's more than one cat-beast running around. Only you never get to see more than one. It's just the same guy in the same monster-suit appearing on screen every time.But the most important thing still is that I forgot I'd already seen it. To my knowledge, this is the only time that ever happened to me. I was even confusing a few specific scenes of it, to be in "Metalbeast". It's like "Time Of The Beast" tries to make you forget it ever existed after you've seen it. An amnesia-inducing flick. That's a first one.And where's that good bit of female nudity when you need some? Oh, right, yes, this was not a crappy slasher movie. Sorry, my bad. It's about some humanoid cat-beast thing, right? Well then, where's Natassja Kinski when you need her?-----Level of Appreciation: Subpar/Moderate

Tigon Corporation is a global giant delving into genetic experimentation. Naturally, their scientists have created something horrible and it is loose in the building. Looks like security guard David Allen (Brion James) picked the wrong day to start work! And the CEO's environmentalist daughter (Embeth Davidtz) picked the wrong night to break in with friends and free the cute animals. Never fear though because Allen is really a former Tigon geneticist who is "undercover" in hopes of taking care of this unfinished business. Director John Bowey cut his teeth editing exploitation pictures, so it is surprising this is so flat. The film's biggest problem is that half of the ten people trapped in the building make it out alive. I believe this is a violation of Horror Movie Code no. 3948, which states that only the male and female leads should survive and walk off into the sunset. The deaths we do get aren't particularly gory and we rarely see the creature - which looks like a big mutant cat - in full. I will give the filmmakers credit for casting James as the heroic lead. I take back all of that credit for the scenes where James is shirtless. Davidtz made her debut with this film but moved on from classics like this to trash like ARMY OF DARKNESS and SCHINDLER'S LIST. Of course, the biggest question is who would win in a fight - MUTATOR or SYNGENOR?

To me, there are two types of poor film. The first type are those that you fall asleep watching. Yet this is not one of those. This film is of the type that is supposed to be a horror and yet it makes you laugh and cringe at how bad it is. But here is the weird thing with poor horror's. You sit there, usually until the end laughing at how bad the "scary" bits are. And this film is the undisputed king of "tacky horror" - a genre that is supposed to be horror and yet turns out to be a comedy. Would I recommend this film? Not to a person who loves to be scared by a film. Not to those who would turn off a film because its so poor (and this film is by no means an exception) But to people who thought that The Exorcist was more of a comedy than a horror and who watch it because of this reason - this IS the ultimate movie for you.Terrible in one sense - Sensational in another!!!

Mutator is a rather disappointing entry in the mutant monster on the loose genre. The creatures appear to be bipedal, muscular, slime-dripping cat creatures, but they're never shown very clearly. The only notable thing about this film is that one of its characters is (coincidentally) named Kevin Murphy, appropriate since Mystery Science Theater 3000's Tom Servo is voiced by an actor sharing that name.