The Mutilator (1984)

A teenager who accidentally committed matricide finds himself being hunted together with his girlfriend and mates by his now crazed father.

Directors:

Buddy Cooper, John Douglass (co-director)

Writer:

Buddy Cooper

Stars:

Matt Mitler, Ruth Martinez, Bill Hitchcock

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Mitler	...	Ed Jr.
Ruth Martinez	...	Pam
Bill Hitchcock	...	Ralph
Connie Rogers	...	Sue
Frances Raines	...	Linda
Morey Lampley	...	Mike
Jack Chatham	...	Big Ed
Ben Moore	...	Cop
Trace Cooper	...	Younger Ed Jr.
Pamela Weddle Cooper	...	Mother
Jimmy Guthrie	...	Bartender
George Sutton	...	Gentleman At Bar
Steve Davis	...	Student In Bar
Tom Outlaw	...	Student In Bar
Pat Jordon	...	Student In Bar

Storyline

A group of teenagers decide to take a vacation at the beach house of one of their fathers. The kid whose father owns the house just happened to accidentally kill his mother when he was a child. When they get to the house, the father has mysteriously disappeared. Hmmm...

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Plot Keywords:

teenager | characters murdered one by one | police | condo | killed with a gaff hook | 

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Taglines:

A vacation that became a nightmare.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fall Break

Filming Locations:

Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$450,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Milk was poured in the swimming pool to make the water more cloudy.

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Goofs

When cut in half, the killer is still alive and cuts the policeman's leg. He is clearly not cut in half, but just buried in the sand which you can see around his body.

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Quotes

Ed Jr.: [while eating] That wasn't so bad.
Mike: [burps]
Ed Jr.: That was.

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Crazy Credits

Outtakes appear during the closing credits.

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Alternate Versions

Two versions of the film have been released by Vestron Video in th mid 80s: the R-Rated Theatrical version, and an unrated version. Unrated version contains extra blood and gore,most notably in the hook scene and in the end with the killer's demise

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Connections

Referenced in Empire of the Censors (1995)

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Soundtracks

Fall Break
Theme
Written by Michael Minard and Arthur Resnick
Performed by Peter Yellen and The Breakers (Sanchie Bobrow, Buddy Cooper, Marty Fogel, Anthony Franklin, John Hill, Matthew Hill, Gregg Hollister, Gary Solomon, Abe Speller, Neil B. Whitford (as Neil Whitford))
Associate Producer: Gary Solomon
Music programmer: Rick Stevenson

User Reviews

In A Class By Itself...

...because nobody else wants to sit with it.

This movie was BAD, and I don't mean it in the 'Man, that chick that beat you up and stole your Pez dispenser was BAD' kinda way. I mean it in the 'Man, that's BAD, a chick beat you up and stole your Pez dispenser!' kinda way.

I tried to remember that 'The Mutilator' (originally called 'Fall Break') was made in '84 or '85 while I was watching it, but that didn't ease the pain much. Terrible acting, stupid lines, and death scenes that can't compete with the average Bazooka Joe comics.

And what the hell was going on with Bill Hitchcock's character? Even twenty years ago Laurel and Hardy imitations were out of date, whose idea was it to throw that in? Especially pay attention to his actions after he knocks the books out of the cheerleader's arms when he's coming out of Hallock Hall. That was way more PAINFUL than any of the deaths I saw. Sorta reminds me of how I acted in high school...

Just exactly how frightened can I be of a killer who spends quite a bit of his time asleep in a closet, clutching his battle axe like it was a teddy bear? In fact, had he been beating people to death with a teddy bear,I could have gotten in to that.

But I knew this movie was bad before I bought it because sadly, I saw it in the theater when it originally came out. So why did I buy it?Mainly because it was made in the city I live in. And the kid, Trace Cooper, who plays the little boy that shot his mom was in my seventh grade class. I remember him passing out autographed pics from the movie, although I didn't get one.

Perhaps I'm still bitter.