Is Masked Mutilator Trash or Treasure?

Blu Ray Distributed By: Intervision – Severin / May 14, 2019

In 1994, a production team in Eastern Pennsylvania brought together a group of local pro wrestlers and young actors to make a horror-action film. A quarter of a century later, the movie was finally finished: After accidentally killing an opponent in the ring, a professional wrestler takes a job at a group home for youth offenders. But when a psychopath wearing a wrestling mask begins butchering the teenage residents, their rehabilitation will become a no-holds-barred battle for survival. WWE and Stampede veteran Brick Bronsky (SGT. KABUKIMAN N.Y.P.D., CLASS OF NUKE ‘EM HIGH 2 & 3), Jeff Sibbach (WCW, NWA), Doug ‘Flex’ Yasinsky (ECW), James DeBello (CABIN FEVER) and F/X master Glenn Hetrick (Syfy’s FACE OFF) co-star in this sex & violence throwback to regional exploitation, directed by Bronsky and completed from the original 16mm footage stored in the Executive Producer’s basement for the past 25 years.

Tyler’s Take (1.5 / 5)

If you’re looking for a well-crafted story that has meaning or purpose, then this isn’t the movie for you.

If you’re looking for a horror movie that makes you squirm and hide behind the Macho Man Randy Savage wrestling figure you stole from Kmart when you were 12, this isn’t the movie for you.

If you’re looking for well-written characters that keep you intrigued and hooked like The Rock and NWO, this isn’t the movie for you.

Let me break down the “plot” before we get too far into this: The main premise is that there’s a former wrestler nicknamed “The Masked Mutilator” who once killed a man in the wrestling ring. Apparently when you’ve committed that kind of atrocity, the logical next step is to take a job as the Home Parent of a group home for troubled teens. Nevermind that the teens are very clearly in their mid-to-late 20s and 30s. This is wrestling, after all, so some suspension of belief is necessary.

Let us continue our journey.

Throughout the movie, a series of grisly murders are committed against the “teens”, and the audience is led to believe it’s the Masked Mutilator (here named Vic or “Commando” for no apparent reason other than maybe the cast forgot the character’s original name). I don’t want to give away the ending because I’m sensing you’re itching to see this for yourself, but let’s just say there’s a surprise twist at the end that you didn’t see coming, unless you were paying even the slightest bit of attention five minutes into the movie.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the movie is all setup as a flashback sequence, where a survivor of the incident is interviewed for a podcast that covers such topics. At the very end after the killer is revealed, we revisit the podcast studio for one last interview with the killer’s supposed brother. All you need to know about this scene is that the actor’s name is Jim “The Tank” Dorsey. You’re welcome.

Look, I like a good B-grade horror movie as much as the next guy. But this is more F-Troop than anything. It’s on par with the buildup and reveal of the Gobbledy Gooker, legendarily the worst creative moment in WWE history. And please, PLEASE look that up after reading this. You WILL be disappointed.

But usually with these types of movies there is some sort of redeeming quality, some nugget that can be referenced as worthy of your time. Often it’s the special effects or music or camera shots. Well, given that this movie ran out of money numerous times and took nearly 30 years to finally finish, it’s not surprising that none of these elements make me want to watch it again. The special effects look like something that would be produced by a first-year college student in an Intro to Makeup and Effects 101 class. At a community college. And he got a C. In fact, the biggest twist in the film is that the special effects makeup artist in the film (Glenn Hetrick) actually went on to have a massively lucrative career in that field, working on films such as The Chronicles of Riddick, all the Hunger Games movies, and most recently Star Trek Discovery. He is most famous for starring as a host and judge on SyFy’s Face-Off!, a reality competition show that pits makeup artists against each other for prizes and money.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for many of the other individuals involved. The truth is this movie is a great example of how important money is to the production of a quality movie. Was the story predictable? Sure, but that’s the beauty of these types of films—you don’t have to think. You can just enjoy it. The problem is, it’s hard to do that with Masked Mutilator because the production quality continually forces the audience to ask, “Why is that happening? Who is that guy?”

However, there is one saving grace in the film—the fight scenes. These are extremely well choreographed, which makes sense when you realize that two of the cast members actually were professional wrestlers (Jeff Sibbach and Brick Bronsky), and a third was accomplished in the martial arts (Tommy Taylor). It’s actually hilarious to watch Sibbach and Bronsky “sell” the moves and take their bumps, because they are clearly drawing on their in-ring experience. Their facial expressions make the scenes even more ridiculous, but it works. Somehow, it works.

I am sure this movie will find a cult following among some horror fans. There’s a whole sub-genre of wrestling cult movies that is woefully under-represented, and the fact that this even tries to build around that idea is a step in that direction. It just looks exactly like the type of movie you’d expect if a group of fans one day decided to make a movie about all the things they love: horror, action, and wrestling. The movie seems more an excuse to tell everyone how awesome they think these things are, rather than an attempt to be meaningful or even coherent.

If you really want to be entertained, be sure to check out all the special features, which include audition tapes and interviews with several cast members and producers. Even the late, great Mean Gene Okerlund makes an appearance. It’s in these interviews that you learn exactly why the film ended up looking and sounding the way it did. When you see those extras, you’ll begin to understand and maybe even forgive the shoddiness of the production and the weakness of the script. Especially the parts where they ran out of film or when they lost entire reels and had to use the beta versions (which is abundantly clear when you see it in the film). It really is just a bunch of fans who found each other and decided to make a movie. It’s not exactly Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, but it’s not The Undertaker vs. Goldberg either. And if you don’t get that reference, this probably isn’t the movie for you.

Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?

Tyler's Take:	(1.5 / 5)
Blu-ray Extras:	(2.5 / 5)
Average:	(2.0 / 5)

Special Features:

• Audio Commentary with Cast & Crew (Dale Schneck, Tom Taylor, Paul Sutt, Steve Mittman and Jim “The Tank” Dorsey)
• You See Me Sweatin’? – Interview with Actor Tom Taylor
• Slice the Pretty Boy – Interview with Actor/FX Artist Paul Sutt
• Scissors, Tape & Paste – Interview with Co-Writer/Co-Executive Producer Ed Polgardy
• Don’t Believe That, Folks – Interview with Co-Writer/Executive Producer Dale Schneck
• Audition Tapes
• Mean Gene Okerlund Interviews Tom Taylor