Director – Tom Berna
Starring – Joan Dinco, David Rommel (Downer), and Anna Zizzo
Release Date – 1995
Rating – 2.5/5
Blu Release – 4/5
Visual Vengeance quickly became one of my favorite boutique blu labels of recent years with their dedication to S.O.V. cinema. I’ll be honest, a lot of their films do not benefit from being restored and put on blu but it’s awesome having a lot of these in my collection with many of them being stuck in VHS hell. Some of these movies are proudly displayed in my collection.
A lot of them are movies I had never seen before and it was thanks to VV that I was able to finally check them out. However, for every movie that I live, there is one that just didn’t do it for me. A few weeks back Visual Vengeance sent me the 1995 sci-fi horror mashup Colony Mutation from Tom Berna. I had never seen this one before but I couldn’t wait to dig into it.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a man who is sneaking out on his hot scientist wife with another woman. She learns of the affair when she gets his credit card bill and confronts him. She slaps him and then throws a chemical her colleague is working at him before he beats her to death. After hiding of her body, he tries to go about his life as if nothing happened but soon learns that the chemical he was hit with has altered his body. His limbs are now carnivorous creatures with a taste for human flesh. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into this one knowing very little about it. It looked like an attempt at the science gone too far films that many of us would watch on the Sci-Fi Channel before their rebranding. While it does feel like that at times, the story is just different enough to make it feel like something somewhat unique. It had some fun moments but loses itself during the last half of it’s runtime.
The acting in this one is rough at times but I appreciate their dedication to their roles. Most of the scenes feature dialogue spoken without conviction and a lot of their mannerisms are unnatural. They are really into their roles but their lack of experience shows in every scene.
The story for this one is another science gone too far creating body horror. We’ve seen this type of films before with films like The Blob and The Fly remakes. I loved how the film started. We have a cheating husband and a scientist who catches him. In a fit of rage, she throws a chemical on him before he kills her before his body slowly changes into a flesh eating beast. I really love how the film is written but it’s the second half of the film where it loses me. The whole body horror aspect is half-assed resulting in a poorly put together last act that has nothing enjoyable for the viewer to see. Honestly, I feel this part was changed during filming for unknown reasons.
Finally, the film has several deaths but they are not as fun as they could have been. The effects are very limited which is why I suspect the second half of the film is difficult to finish. I love the idea behind his body/limbs being monsters but the way the films goes about it leaves a lot to be desired. Overall, Colony Mutation is a movie that I was really looking forward to and was actually liking until the film lost steam. The ending felt rather dull and out of place makes me think that it was changed on the fly. I wanted to like it but it just wasn’t for me. Skip it.
Special Features:
Region free Blu-ray
New, director supervised 2K transfer and restoration from original Super 8 film elements
Commentary from producer/ director Tom Berna
Commentary with Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
Interview with director Tom Berna
Interview with star David Rommel
Interview with music composer Patrick Nettesheim
In the Director’s Chair: archival public access interview with Tom Berna
Alternate original 1998 VHS version of Colony Mutation
Alternate original 2013 DVD version of Colony Mutation
Complete original script
Image Gallery
Producer teaser trailer
Visual Vengeance trailers
Optional English subtitles
‘Stick Your Own’ VHS stickers
Reversible sleeve featuring original VHS art
Folded poster with original illustrated art
Booklet with liner notes by Tony Strauss – FIRST PRESSING ONLY
Limited edition O-Card with art by Justin Coons – FIRST PRESSING ONLY
