Underworld (1986)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Good start, but then it gets ruined

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

"Transmutations" is an overly-long and not-that-worthwhile creature feature.**SPOILERS**Abducted from her house, Nicole, (Nicola Cowper) finds herself in the possession of Hugo Motherskille, (Steven Berkoff) a ruthless gangster. The abduction forces Roy Bain, (Larry Lamb) a former associate of the group, into action, which he finds is not his doing and wants her back as much as he does. Investigating the disappearance, he eventually finds traces that lead to Dr. Savary, (Denholm Elliott) who has produced a strange white powder that's coveted by a race of deformed human beings who live in the underworld in the sewers below the city. Finding they are engaged in a war with him over the control of use of the powder in experiments he conducted years ago that turned them into their deformed state, he agrees to help them in their battle against their demented enemies.The Good News: There's only a few minor points in here that make this worthwhile. The main thing with this one is that the final confrontation is actually really good. The shootout between the two sides is really nice, taking out some members from each side in acceptable gunfights while also utilizing some grenades as well. Mixed with the final confrontations in the underground lairs, including the brutal gassing sequence and the single worthwhile kill in the film, where one's head is set on fire and melts away, all make these scenes the best part of the film. It's twenty minutes of pure excitement and interest, mainly since it's the only part of the film that has any. The only other point of interest is the storyline, which isn't that bad and doesn't really feel all that complicated or hard to figure out, it just takes a while to get out. These here are all the film has going for it.The Bad News: This was a woefully underwhelming effort for several reasons. The biggest one, and the most interconnecting one is the absolute and utter dullness. Pretty much everything in here is either way to long to get to the point or just nothing happens. The mystery angle would've been nice had it lead to anything, but here it just leads to tediously long stretches where he spends the time talking to everyone around, which is just plain dull, and when it just seems to go on and on, such as the sequence in the club with the dancers or searching the lab for ideas about what's going on, all of which are just plain boring and overlong and make the film just plain tough to get through. Since the only action scene is the final twenty minutes, everything else until that time manages to feel very plain hard to get through. That's the biggest flaw with the film, that nothing happens in here. The other flaw in here is the fact that the cheese level isn't good at all. The creatures look lame, the disco soundtrack isn't any good and it's hard to determine what other elements are here are caused to help the film. It's still not as damaging as the other flaw, but these here are the film's biggest problems.The Final Verdict: Hardly anything worthwhile in here manages to be the main spoiler to a terribly underwhelming effort. Really only give this one a shot if these kinds of cheesy creature features are interesting for you, otherwise then just ignore this one and seek out more worthwhile entries.Rated R: Graphic Language and Violence

Mostly boring, distant and very weird…That's the painful conclusion I have to make after watching "Transmutations". This sure isn't Clive Barker like we know him from "Hellraiser" and even "Rawhead Rex" (the other lousy collaboration between Barker and director Pavlou) was ten times better than this. The story isn't very original and – more importantly – it never seems to properly take off. Pivot element seems to be a very addictive new drug, developed by Dr. Savary, but the side effects cause people to mutate so that they're forced to live in a secret underground community. The mutants kidnap the fancy prostitute Nicole because she appears to be immune for the horrible side effects. Amateur hero Roy Bain attempts to rescue her…yawn! The acting of the entire is truly miserable and the Pavlou's directing is really, really weak. Luckily his repertoire only exists out of two films! There's no tension at all and the few action sequences are tame and unexciting. You wouldn't know if it was a Clive Barker script if it wasn't for the use of kinky outfits and bizarre sexual undertones. Really, what is the deal with Barker and his obsession for black leather? The overuse of bad music is really annoying and don't set your hopes on seeing gross-out gore, neither. The only slightly imaginative aspect is the make-up on some of the mutants and even then you get the feeling that they easily could have done more with it. I surely expected a lot more from this film (especially considering the fact it was so hard to track down) but I hope to convince people not to watch it! Transmutations (a.k.a Underworld) definitely is one of the worst 80's horror movies…and that says a lot!

This movie looks like those from the end of 1950s or beginning of the 1960s, only badly directed. A very weird and confused story, ham actors and actresses, I believe nothing is worthwhile in this film. The unique curiosity is the name of Clive Baker in the credits. But my advice is: - Do not waste your time! My vote is three.

This movie looks like a long 80's video clip. Based upon a story by Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Nightbreed)about a new breed of mutants and their addiction to a drug that allow them to survive. There's no emotion in this film, everything is cold and this is the reason why I think the film is not able to create any kind of emotion. Anyway you can see this film as a dark (and disappointing) movie containing some good scenes (and intentions).