Since there have been more zombie movies than talk shows coming out during the past ten years, it's becoming very difficult for directors/scriptwriters to surprise the fans with something new and original. This French effort tries to achieve this through blending the zombie mayhem with a tale of true love. Like "Zombie Honeymoon" already tried back in 2004, "Mutants" revolves on a woman who loyally stands by the side of her man even though he's going through several phases of "zombification". In a completely desolate and daunt snowy landscape, ambulance drivers Marco and Sonia are ambushed by mutants (victims of a worldwide virus) and Marco gets infected. Sonia, who is strangely immune for the virus, takes him to an abandoned army facility and tries to delay the impact of the virus as long as possible. "Mutants" is slightly better than the aforementioned "Zombie Honeymoon", simply because the atmosphere is much grittier and the situation more hopeless. As a viewer, you also grow to care for Sonia a lot more than you would for the averagely stereotypical protagonist in any other random zombie movie, and it definitely helps that the gorgeous Hélène de Fougerolles gives away a wonderful performance. "Mutants" is also a very gruesome and gory flick, although without being exploitative. The gratuitous zombie kills/killings are kept to a modest amount, but the make-up effects are excessively nauseating. That's a positive comment, mind you! In all honesty, this is a very decent and admirable horror movie, yet for some reason I can't be overly enthusiastic about it. The wholesome felt very derivative and mundane, definitely not a film I'd bother to see again or even recommend to someone else.
