| Mutant Hunt | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Tim Kincaid |
| Starring | Rick Gianasi |
Release date |
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| Language | English |
Mutant Hunt is a 1987direct-to-video American actionscience fiction film written and directed byTim Kincaid.
Set in New York in 1992[1] (the near future at the time of the film's release), the plot involves abounty hunter who chases mutant cyborgs to prevent them from killing humans.
Tim Kincaid first encounteredCharles Band at theAmerican Film Market as the former attempted to sell his independently produced filmBad Girls Dormitory.[2] While Band ultimately passed on acquiringBad Girls Dormitory, he did tell Kincaid to show him any future projects he was developing.[2] Upon his return toNew York, Kinccaid and his wife/producer Cynthia DePaula went over the various projects they'd developed and sent the material to Band who invited the two back toCalifornia with band acquiringRapists from Outer Space (which would eventually becomeBreeders) andMutant Hunt which would be shotback-to-back.[2]
The film was released straight to video on October 28, 1987, in the United States[3] but was theatrically released in Europe (under the titleRobot Killer, in France).[4] In January of the same year, another film by Kincaid,Robot Holocaust had received a direct-to-video release in the United States. The same year he would also releaseRiot on 42nd St. andMaximum Thrust (later renamedThe Occultist orWaldo Warren, Private Dick Without a Brain), another film featuring Rick Gianasi.[5]
A mixed recent retrospective review of the film states that "The film’s noticeable lack of budget hampered the proceedings. The film uses minimal locations, the acting leaves plenty of room for improvement, and the story lacks the scope of the ideas it wants to explore.Mutant Hunthad the right idea, and some of the practical makeup effects are solid, including a mutant with its jaw detached."[6] Another recent review was much more negative: "Low-budget horror has its fans, but some efforts really push the limits of human endurance with inept writing, dreadful acting, and low-rent special effects.Mutant Hunt is remarkable in its ability to check all those boxes in a 77-minute excursion into the absurd."[7] In a similar manner, another review comments: "At times, it seems fairly obvious that Director Tim Kincaid is a fan of theTerminator franchise, and the film seems to be a late-to-the-draw attempt at cashing in on its popularity. Some of the costuming is unintentionally hilarious and serves to distract rather than build thecyberpunk setting that was likely intended. Unfortunately, Kincaid’s history as a porn director seems to leak through into his film."[8]
