MUTANT (1984) - Vinegar Syndrome

Mutant
Vinegar Syndrome

Original Release Date Aug. 24th, 1984
Written by Michael Jones & John C. Kruize (story), & Peter Z. Orton (screenplay)
Directed by John 'Bud' Cardos, Mark Rosman (original director)
Starring Wings Hauser, Lee Montgomery, Bo Hopkins, Jody Medford, Jennifer Warren
Language English (English subs available)

Get your copy HERE from Diabolik, or HERE from Orbit

by "Doc" Hunter Bush, MovieJawn Podcast Director and Staff Writer 

Overview:

Mutant comes to Blu-ray and 4K from Vinegar Syndrome. Directed by industry veteran and jack-of-all-trades John 'Bud' Cardos, who was brought in to replace the original director, the film is an enjoyably creepy experience. Vinegar Syndrome's release of Mutant features a respectable video transfer and audio package with a solid assortment of bonus features.

The Movie Itself: 4 stars

Mutant (also known as Night Shadows, The Pestilence, Things in the Night, or Toxic Waste) (yes, really) most likely will not blow your socks off, but it's a very competent small town horror thriller. When brothers Josh (Wings Hauser) and Mike (Lee Montgomery) run afoul of some rednecks on the highway, their car ends up in a ditch and they end up stuck overnight in a fairly inhospitable small town. But the violent locals aren't their biggest problem.

Beset with production difficulties that led to original director Mark Rosman being replaced by John 'Bud' Cardos, Mutant plays the long game with the audience, teasing something unknown and horrible and a possible conspiracy to hide it from prying eyes before ultimately revealing a more familiar style of antagonist fiends. Allegedly, the "monsters" were originally intended to be something else, but budgetary concerns and limited time were the real conspiracy, I guess.

BUT. The final product is still enjoyable. With plot elements that feel straight out of a Resident Evil game--including characters listening to the final audio log of a doctor (Jennifer Warren) while examining the site where they were murdered by monsters--and a charismatic lead performance from the great Wings Hauser, as well as a colorful cast of supporting locals, Mutant is perfect late night, popcorn-and-a-beer movie.

The Packaging: 3.5

The film comes in a standard, handsome black 4K Blu-ray case with a reversible cover. One side features an appropriately drive-in style cover with a baseball bat wielding Josh protecting bartender / schoolteacher Holly (Jody Medford) from threatening outstretched hands, flanked by other characters from the film and above an image of a burning car on town's main street. The reverse side features a more vague (and honestly, misleading) image of many large, amorphous, vaguely biological shapes filling the sky above a small town on the horizon. This image, which would make more sense for a movie like Phantoms (1998), sits above the tagline "Mankind's deadliest threat will not come from the skies."

The Video: 4 stars

Something that happens fairly frequently with these restorations is that lower light sequences will end up having a bit more digital visual noise in them; a byproduct of balancing the contrast (is my understanding). Since the majority of Mutant is set at night and/or in various interiors, the light levels are somewhat inconsistent, meaning there's kind of a lot of this grain. So if you're someone who will not settle for anything but the most pristine, crystal clear presentations, you'll want to skip this one.

Now, I will say, at no point was any of this grain ever a distraction. For the most part, it just became akin to the usual film grain and added that certain something that modern digital clarity lacks. For me, some grain, some noise is a bonus. It's akin to production value, especially when it fits the vibe of the film. For a desperate, paranoid, trapped-in-a-small town monster movie thriller like Mutant, it fits like a glove.

The Audio: 4 stars

I had no issues with the sound mix here. My personal metrics are: whether or not I have to ride the volume buttons on my remote and whether or not, when things get their loudest, the mix makes my three-channel soundbar vibrate. Neither of these particular beasts reared their ugly heads on this one. There are one, maybe two scenes in locations that are slightly more echoey, but these sequences don't have a ton of important dialogue, so audio clarity and whether or not I could understand what was being said is kind of a moot point.

What I really loved was the score, by veteran composer Richard Band (brother of fellow genre legend Charles Band, and composer for many of their projects) which features a lot of simple motifs and some beautifully sustained strings. It was nothing mind-blowing, but as usual with Richard Band, it was surprisingly engaging and vivid.

The Supplements: 4 stars

What I want most out of supplemental materials is context, especially when I learn that the production on a film was somewhat troubled. Luckily this release offers a lot of it. Between the two commentary tracks, two archival interviews, and the new interviews, I feel like I have a very good idea of what the experience of making Mutant was like, and as a bonus, it seems largely very positive. Oftentimes, a change of director is indicative of some great strife, but here it seems like a mutual parting of ways.

• Archival commentary track with director John 'Bud' Cardos, producer Igo Kantor, and actor Lee Montgomery
• New commentary track with film historians Howard S. Berger, and Steve Mitchell
• A Real Country Boy - an interview with Cali Lili Hauser, widow of Wings Hauser  (17:10) (HD)
• Mutant Report - Anthony Everitt reflects on his father's coverage of the film (7:23) (SD)
• Archival Interview with Bo Hopkins (10:59) (SD)
• Archival Interview with Lee Montgomery (15:42) (SD)
• Trailer (1:30)

Final Thoughts: Highly Recommended

I don't think Mutant is a must watch, but for genre fans, it's a neat little treat. Wings Hauser, Lee Montgomery, and Jody Medford are all fun to watch, even though Montgomery is missing for much of the run time, and Medford doesn't arrive until nearly halfway through, I believe. But hands down, my favorite character and performance was Bo Hopkins as the Sheriff, who goes through an entire arc, largely in the background of his scenes. He begins as a surly obstacle with a drinking problem before the events of the film begin to set him straight and he ends up a hero.

All-in-all I recommend most people check this film out if you get the chance. It's probably worth a watch if only to see Wings Hauser leap across a pool table in the middle of a bar fight! But I imagine only true blue midnight movie fans will be making space for Mutant on their shelf.

HIM (2025) - Universal Pictures

HIM
Universal Pictures

Original Release Date Sept. 19th, 2025
Written by Skip Bronkie, Zack Akers, Justin Tipping
Directed by Justin Tipping
Starring Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies
Language English, Spanish, and French; (subtitles available)

Buy it HERE from Orbit

by "Doc" Hunter Bush, MovieJawn Podcast Director and Staff Writer 

Overview:

HIM comes to 4K & Blu-ray from Universal. Directed by relative newcomer Justin Tipping, whose previous film Kicks (2016) caught the eye of Jordan Peele, the film is almost over-stuffed with style, symbolism, and themes. Universal's release of HIM features a fantastic video transfer and audio package with a deep bench of bonus features.

The Movie Itself: Excellent

Four stars for a football x horror movie might seem high at first glance. I will admit that the film is more of a conceptual experiment than some more narratively focused films. What does it take to become The Best at something? What are you willing to do to get there? These sorts of questions are more what HIM is concerned with than telling a more traditional story with more traditional obstacles and nemeses, and on first viewing, that shook me.

It was on a repeat viewing that the film began to gel. All the disparate elements, as well as the prevalence of style, all started to come together more for me and really began to work together, like a team. The commentary track with director Justin Tipping further elucidated the sheer amount of detail and levels the film is working on at all times. Which isn't to say that HIM can't be over-stimulating, at times coming off like an especially grizzly, psyche-assaulting Gatorade commercial, it's just that over time, I've learned to add "(complimentary)" to the end of that statement.

Story and style aside, HIM features an impressive lead performance from Tyriq Withers (as Cam) and an absolutely dynamite, career-redefining performance from Marlon Wayans. Withers' emotive eyes convey a depth of emotion from scene to scene, always acting as a grounding force; a calm (no pun intended) eye of the storm no matter how crazy events outside are, and trust me, they get plenty crazy. Wayans, meanwhile, is essentially giving the best hair-trigger psychopath performance of the decade?

Ultimately there's more about HIM to root for than against, and as was my experience, a second go-round was what it took to really click with it. If you dig on unusual horror movies, occult symbolism, Alejandro Jodorowsky-style visuals (seriously), top-tier villain performances, or the ethos of "God, Family, Football", you'd be remiss in letting HIM pass you by.

The Packaging: Good

The packaging here is just fine; no large complaints. The cover image, especially coming from a film with so much visual creativity, is a little underwhelming: Zay stands behind a seated Cam, with his hands on Cam's shoulders, showcasing Zay's impressive collection of championship rings, with the vague impression of stadium lights behind them.

The case is your standard, black snap-case. There's also a slip cover which recreates the same cover image described above. Like I said, nothing necessarily wrong with it, but I think it's underselling the film's visual language a little in the hopes of catching the eye of football & horror fans with less avant-garde tastes?

The Video: Excellent

As with my Bugonia 4K review, I'm giving this an 'Excellent' because maybe, somewhere out there in the cinematic cosmos, there's a film that looks inarguably better than this. Maybe. Regardless, HIM looks incredible. Color, as director Justin Tipping mentions during his commentary track, plays a major part within the film, as do things like the costuming and set design. Even more so than in your average film. This 4K presentation does all of these justice, allowing you to soak up every detail. Every drop of blood, sweat, and tears is perfectly preserved.

The lighting is very manicured in HIM, due in large part to the unusual locations where they filmed, but everything is incredibly well-balanced here. Similarly the effects shots look tremendous. There are repeated sequences shot with an infrared camera, and to say things have come a long way since Predator (1987)'s heat vision is a massive understatement.

The Audio: Excellent

My major takeaway, sonically, from HIM was how well-integrated the score is. There's an entire special feature based around how the score was created, and the ways in which it was utilized, and with that in mind, I paid special attention to it upon my rewatch. Beyond just conveying the tone and emotional content, the score is manipulated in almost meta-textual ways, like having it performed as though it were part of the music being heard within the film itself!

My three-channel soundbar might not be the fanciest set-up, but the Dolby Atmos made the most of it. Dialogue was clear, the music was powerful, the sports and training impacts all felt brutal, and the sheer size of some of the rooms was conveyed very well through the mix.

The Supplements: Excellent

I'm giving the bonus features here a very high score because there are a lot of them, and they are obviously well thought-out. Aside from a bunch of deleted scenes and an alternate ending, there are numerous making-of featurettes examining the film's themes, how certain scenes were constructed, the casting of Marlon Wayans, and as mentioned above, the work that went into scoring the film.

I also want to give a special shout-out to the commentary track with director Justin Tipping, which was full of even more insights. It also features my favorite trope of commentary tracks: when a filmmaker will point out a moment in the film that is obviously an effects shot, briefly claim they did that practically, and then admit they were kidding, ending with some version of "That's what we call Movie Magic." Like a toddler giggling at the 'got yer nose' gag, I laugh every time.

• Alternate Ending: "Zay's Nightmare" (2:13, HD)
• Deleted End Credits Scene: "Food of Freedom" (1:07, HD)
• Deleted Scenes (13:20, HD):
• "Cheers"
• "Don't Be a Mascot"
• "The Publicist"
• "Fantasy Football"
• "Cam's Discovery"
• Becoming Them (9:07, HD)
• The Sport of Filmmaking (10:10, HD)
• Anatomy of a Scene: "A Diabolical Game of Catch" (4:26, HD)
• Anatomy of a Scene: "Rebirth" (4:53, HD)
• Hymns of a Goat (4:36, HD)

Final Thoughts: Highly Recommended 

I watched HIM for the first time at the end of last year, and enjoyed it just fine, but felt like I just wasn't on the same wavelength as the film. I jumped at the chance to review this release because I really wanted the chance to re-examine it, and I was not disappointed. HIM is a film that I can see being a tall order for some people: narratively light, thematically and conceptually dense, and with some very difficult moments (to paraphrase Justin Tipping "In football, the body horror is build-in").

However, nothing about the film is superfluous. There are no cheap scares, no pointless violence. Everything serves the film by supporting the themes, which are asking some very interesting questions. Add to that the fantastic lead performances, and the jaw-dropping visuals, and HIM makes for a very satisfying addition to the under-represented Sports Horror genre.

STIR OF ECHOES steelbook (Lionsgate)

Stir of Echoes
Directed and written by David Koepp, based on the novel by Richard Matheson
Starring Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, Kevin Dunn
Running time 1 hour and 39 minutes
Rated R by the MPA for violence, sexuality and language
On 4K, Blu-ray, and digital Dec. 10th from Lionsgate

by "Doc" Hunter Bush, Staff Writer and Podcast Director

Synopsis:

Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a blue-collar worker, a family man, the most ordinary guy in the world...who is about to be plunged into a shattering encounter with another world. And it doesn't matter that Tom doesn't believe in the supernatural. Because something supernatural has started to believe in Tom. After he is hypnotized at a neighborhood party, Tom changes. He sees things he can't explain and hears voices he can't ignore. As the horrific visions intensify, Tom realizes they are pieces of a puzzle, echoes of a crime calling out to be solved. But when his other-worldly nightmares begin coming true, Tom wants out. He desperately tries to rid himself of his eerie, unwanted powers - only to be seized by an irresistible compulsion to dig deeper and deeper into the mystery that is consuming his life. When at last he unearths the truth, it will draw him into the long-buried secret of a ghastly crime, a vengeful spirit...and the lethal price of laying that spirit to rest.

What Features Make it Special:

• Audio Commentary with Director David Koepp
• Visions of the Past: Re-visiting Stir of Echoes (2024 NEW featurette)
• Establishing Shot with Fred Murphy (2024 NEW featurette)
• Flipping the Switch: Directing Stir of Echoes
• Maggie's Memories: Inside Stir of Echoes
• Opening the Door: Designing Stir of Echoes
• Making of Stir of Echoes
• Sight of Spirits: Channeling the Paranormal
• Behind the Echoes
• The Mind's Eye: Beneath the Trance
• Special Effects
• Production Design
• Interviews with Cast and Crew
• Behind the Scenes
• Scene Comparisons
• Screen Tests
• Deleted Scenes
• Promotional Materials
• Breathe Original Music Video
• Theatrical Trailer

Why You Need to Add it to Your Media Library:

Beyond its solid pedigree-- based on a novel by genre legend Richard Matheson, with a stacked cast of talented character actors-- Stir of Echoes is an intimate portrait of growing madness, the dark heart of even the most serene neighborhood. From an effects standpoint, it relies mostly on the practical, with camera tricks and clever edits building an ever-present tension. It's not flashy, it's just a well-built thriller with some real chills and the exact right amount of supernaturality.

Confoundingly, even up into the last few years, it was rarely streamable until around the spooky season, making physical media a must. It's for that reason that I've held on to my original DVD-- with its silly plastic slipcover with black ...ectoplasm (?) on it--- for so long; I love introducing folks to this flick! Despite being reasonably well-received when it premiered, Stir of Echoes remains somewhat of an under-seen prize. The problem with Stir of Echoes is that it's a slow-build supernatural thriller that came out in 1999, but it isn't The Sixth Sense, so nobody really noticed.

And this version is ostensibly the best-looking one yet! In the Establishing Shot special feature, cinematographer Fred Murphy and 4K colorist Kostas Theodosiou detail the processes by which the 4K was constructed and fine-tuned, and it's very interesting if you're into the nitty-gritty of how these sorts of projects are accomplished. While both Murphy and Theodosiou are adamant about maintaining the spirit of the film, they're now able to fine-tune aspects that they weren't able to in the past; brightening one area of a scene, better balancing the lighting in between a shot and its reverse; things like that. The small tweaks the filmmakers wish they had the time and money for from the start. So make space on your shelf for this one, and watch it any time you like. Ghosts don't care what time of year it is so why should you?

Stir of Echoes is available on 4K, Blu-ray, and digital Dec. 10th from Lionsgate