Mutant Chronicles

Mutant Chronicles is a small sci-fi flick with big aspirations. Unfortunately, it falls way short of these aspirations. The film shows some promise but the plot and acting is so sordid and dry, you find yourself wincing a few times, trying to choke down your popcorn.
The plot takes place in the distant future. The world is governed by four large corporations (apparently Sony and Google have folded sometime between) who are constantly at war with each other for precious resources. As armies collide on a murky wasteland somewhere, the battle awakens a machine(!) that changes humans into violent bone-bladed zombie killers. A task force is assembled to go deep into the ground and destroy said zombie making machine. Oh, and there are zombies everywhere....
Well, let's start with the good. Little known director Simon Hunter does his best with what he has. The majority of the film is shot digitally, which leaves Hunter open to really push the envelope visually. And there are some really interesting visuals in this movie. A lot of the military tech actually has a retro feel to it. The settings allude to a World War II, steampunk sort of feel. The blood is very visceral and bright red, which contrasts heavily with the murky CGI. It is always dark in this future, and raining a lot. Although there are some scenes where the CGI misses heavily, most of the effects hold up well against other movies within the genre. So good job, Simon Hunter. You may get to direct another movie yet. (And according to IMDB, he's got something called CURVE in development.)
And now the bad. The one aspect of the movie that looked to be strong was the cast. First impressions: Great cast for a sci-fi zombie flick. We have Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, John Malkovich, Sean Pertwee, Devon Aoki, and Pras(!) from hip-hop group the Fugees. But this is where things fall apart. The acting is horrible!!!! I feel Jane is one of those actors that everyone is doting on, right up until they actually see him in a movie. Then it's kind of like, ewwww okkkkayyyyy. I mean he was serviceable in the Punisher, and the Mist is an awesome movie but not because of his acting ability. He spends most of the movie barking his lines at everyone and looking very distraught. Perlman is his trademark self. He's always been good in these kind of roles. Aoki and Pras are fill-ins. Pertwee is blah. And then there is Malkovich.
First of all, how the heck did John Malkovich even end up in this movie? I mean, he was in Burn After Reading and the Changeling which were both released the same year as Mutant Chronicles. ????????? He is the WORST actor in this movie. I read some reviews which believed him to be drunk or high when he filmed his scenes. I think he was sent the wrong script, ok'd the part, got to the set, saw what it was, said screw it and made up everything after that. At least he's got Transformers 3 on the horizon.

If you are a fan of MST3K, and are looking for some joke-filled commentary fodder, this is the film for you. But only if it is still in the special $1 rental section at Backstage Video.

Grade: D+