Accion Mutante (2 Stars)

I'm a big fan of Alex de la Iglesia. I consider him to be the best director alive in Europe today. It's difficult to say which of his films I like the most. "Witching and Bitching", "The Last Circus" and "800 Bullets" are three of the best films ever made. His films made in English aren't quite as good, but they're still worth watching. "Accion Mutante" is the first film that he made, and it's his only science fiction film.

In the not so distant future the world is living in peace. The only trouble comes from a terrorist group called Accion Mutante (engl. Mutant Action). The group is protesting against the world's beauty culture. They set off bombs at fitness studios and aerobics classes. The terrorists themselves aren't mutants, it's just a name. However, they're all disfigured, either from birth or through accidents. There are hunchbacks, Siamese twins and people who have lost their legs. They oppose anyone who is more beautiful than they are.

The group's leader, Ramon, who is scarred by facial burns, has recently been released from prison. He wants to pull off a big job to get money to make up for his lost years. Accion Mutante kidnaps Patricia Orujo, the daughter of the world's biggest corporation. He offers to give her back to her father for 100 million Ecus, which I assume is a lot of money. The transaction will be carried out on the distant mining planet Axturias. This is complicated by three problems.

1. Ramon's greed has overwhelmed him. On the journey through space he kills his fellow gang members so that he doesn't have to share the money.

2. Patricia falls in love with Ramon and doesn't want to go back to her father.

3. There are no women on the planet Axturias, so the miners are desperate for sex and good food. When Ramon refuses to sell Patricia to them they try to steal Patricia.

When the film was first released in 1993 it gained a lot of popularity among horror film fans. The gore is an obvious homage to the Italian horror films of the late 1970's and early 1980's. There's lots of blood flying everywhere, and it's obvious that it's fake. In the fight scenes no attempt is made to make the punches look genuine. The whole film is alienated by being made to look unrealistic. If I had to make a comparison, I'd say that it looks like "The Toxic Avenger" and the other early Troma films.

I don't like it. For me films have to look realistic. I expect better acting. I'm glad that Alex de la Iglesia didn't make any more films like this. His second film, "The Day of the Beast" (1995), showed his new style, which he's retained ever since: realistic action and acting, but exaggerated stories that culminate in madness.

This is Alex de la Iglesia's worst film, but it was his first. Everyone has to start somewhere.