When high class hooker Nicole is kidnapped from her brothel, Rich businessman Hugo Motherskille hires her ex love Roy Bain to find her. Investigating the disappearance, he eventually finds traces that lead to Dr. Savary, who has produced a strange white powder that's coveted by a race of deformed human beings who live in the underworld in the sewers below the city.
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Even with a few decent Brit actors (Lamb, Malik and Phil Davis in a minor role) a good one (Berkoff) and Denholm Elliott as a mad slightly effeminate doctor the acting was just so wooden and should have been much better - the dialogue was clichéd and seemed to be like a very bad 40's Film Noir B movie (everyone was doing a very bad Cagney impersonation) and every sentence said to the main character had to end in "Roy"But wait!! It gets worse! - The soundtrack was just so bad - Whoever was responsible seemed to think he was Vangelis but was more like Vangelis' mum and TBH she would have been a better choice - It just had the feel of a bad 80s pop video and I kept expecting Meat Loaf to jump out and start warbling - gave it 2/10 and that was only because I got this for free and Meat Loaf WASN'T in it.I recommended getting a tooth pulled - it's more entertaining and less painful - don't waste your time with this :)
Future London where lots of neon bathes everything. Roy Bain (Larry Lamb) is hired by old cohort/crime boss Motherskille (Steven Berkoff) to find Nicole (Nicola Cowper), one of his prostitutes who was kidnapped and is, naturally, Bain's ex-flame. A group of genetic freaks who live under the streets grabbed her because her body might provide the answers to their mutations. Seems they got hooked the synthetic drug "White Man" by unethical bio-chemist Dr. Savary (Denholm Elliott) and Nicole is the only addict whose visage isn't turning into the Elephant Man. This isn't really a good movie, but it is unique and well made enough for me to enjoy it. Debuting director George Pavlou gives it a retro- future vibe like STREETS OF FIRE and TROUBLE IN MIND. The film is probably best known for being co-written by Clive Barker (Pavlou would adapt Barker's RAWHEAD REX after this). I know Barker dismisses it now, but it still has some interesting ideas and you can even see a bit of the genesis for his CABAL/NIGHTBREED in it. This is the kind of film studios should be picking up and remaking as it had a germ of a good plot, but not the budget to carry it out. You can definitely tell that Clive had a fondness for BLADE RUNNER when he wrote this though. But, unlike that film, this can't escape its 80s-ness with lots of shoulder pads, trench coats and neon on display. The cast is good although Lamb is an odd choice for a romantic/heroic lead as he looks like a cross between Steve Coogan and Bill Maher. The mutant make-up leaves something to be desired though as their leader looks like a bulbous Andy Dick. Supporting players include Miranda Richardson as a mutant and Ingrid Pitt as a madame. There is also a moody synth score by 80s band Freur. Fans of the VHS sleeve will be disappointed that no one is shrunk and put into a vial (although I'm sure it gave distributor Charles Band some fantasies).
"Transmutations" is an overly-long and not-that-worthwhile creature feature.**SPOILERS**Abducted from her house, Nicole, (Nicola Cowper) finds herself in the possession of Hugo Motherskille, (Steven Berkoff) a ruthless gangster. The abduction forces Roy Bain, (Larry Lamb) a former associate of the group, into action, which he finds is not his doing and wants her back as much as he does. Investigating the disappearance, he eventually finds traces that lead to Dr. Savary, (Denholm Elliott) who has produced a strange white powder that's coveted by a race of deformed human beings who live in the underworld in the sewers below the city. Finding they are engaged in a war with him over the control of use of the powder in experiments he conducted years ago that turned them into their deformed state, he agrees to help them in their battle against their demented enemies.The Good News: There's only a few minor points in here that make this worthwhile. The main thing with this one is that the final confrontation is actually really good. The shootout between the two sides is really nice, taking out some members from each side in acceptable gunfights while also utilizing some grenades as well. Mixed with the final confrontations in the underground lairs, including the brutal gassing sequence and the single worthwhile kill in the film, where one's head is set on fire and melts away, all make these scenes the best part of the film. It's twenty minutes of pure excitement and interest, mainly since it's the only part of the film that has any. The only other point of interest is the storyline, which isn't that bad and doesn't really feel all that complicated or hard to figure out, it just takes a while to get out. These here are all the film has going for it.The Bad News: This was a woefully underwhelming effort for several reasons. The biggest one, and the most interconnecting one is the absolute and utter dullness. Pretty much everything in here is either way to long to get to the point or just nothing happens. The mystery angle would've been nice had it lead to anything, but here it just leads to tediously long stretches where he spends the time talking to everyone around, which is just plain dull, and when it just seems to go on and on, such as the sequence in the club with the dancers or searching the lab for ideas about what's going on, all of which are just plain boring and overlong and make the film just plain tough to get through. Since the only action scene is the final twenty minutes, everything else until that time manages to feel very plain hard to get through. That's the biggest flaw with the film, that nothing happens in here. The other flaw in here is the fact that the cheese level isn't good at all. The creatures look lame, the disco soundtrack isn't any good and it's hard to determine what other elements are here are caused to help the film. It's still not as damaging as the other flaw, but these here are the film's biggest problems.The Final Verdict: Hardly anything worthwhile in here manages to be the main spoiler to a terribly underwhelming effort. Really only give this one a shot if these kinds of cheesy creature features are interesting for you, otherwise then just ignore this one and seek out more worthwhile entries.Rated R: Graphic Language and Violence
This movie looks like a long 80's video clip. Based upon a story by Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Nightbreed)about a new breed of mutants and their addiction to a drug that allow them to survive. There's no emotion in this film, everything is cold and this is the reason why I think the film is not able to create any kind of emotion. Anyway you can see this film as a dark (and disappointing) movie containing some good scenes (and intentions).