Mutant (1984)

aka Night Shadows

In a case of 'wrong place, wrong time,' brothers Josh and Mike (Wings Hauser and Lee Montgomery) stumble into a rural town where trouble only begins when they become a target for the local rednecks. A mysterious illness has struck, leaving a scant few townsfolk alive during the day and growing hordes of "chemical zombies" by night. The fog machine is working overtime in this one as an effectively unsettling mood is created at dusk. The acting is above average for this b-movie as locals have a wealth of southern personality. The infected do stand out among other films with their pale blue skin and darkened sockets, though their blood does resemble something closer to nacho cheese than chemically degenerated hemoglobin. As it should be, the third act is the most thrilling with the population reaching its infected heights, but it suffers by lingering in one location for too long. Comparison to genre standards is inevitable, and while there is a colorful cast and a relatively intriguing plot, it all comes off a tad underwhelming.

2½ little green men and perverts out of 5

Ben (1972)

Picking up at the end of Willard, Ben and his "ratpack" (LOL) move on and terrorize a new neighborhood, where he meets Danny, a sick boy who finds a companion in the fat rat. Notable for the young Michael Jackson single, “Ben’s Song.” The problem with these movies is that the rats aren’t very scary; when they “attack” it looks as if the filmmakers are simply throwing them at people, they scream, and then it cuts away. Ben in particular looks too cute to fear.

2.5 mousetraps out of 5