The New Mutants

 We'll know what the Best Picture of 2020 (and the first two months of 2021) will be in twenty-four hours. So I'll get some reviews out for a few films nominated for nothing this year. But they would've been on my radar had things not gone haywire. The first reviewed film is The New Mutants, an X-Men spin-off that waited over two years to get released. Was it worth it?

The New Mutants are five mutant kids who wind up in an abandoned hospital under the care of Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga). Sam Guthrie (Charlie Heaton) propels himself like a cannonball, Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams) is a werewolf, Bobby da Costa (Henry Zaga) plays with fire and Ilyana Rasputin (Anna Taylor-Joy) has access to limbo. Dani Moonstar (Blu Hunt), the newest mutant, has psychic powers that manifest others' fears. Her fears manifest as a monstrous Demon Bear. Soon, her fear powers manifest on the others.

So what about the rest of the movie? The new mutants try to get along with each other. They think that Dr. Reyes will send them to join the X-Men. But they learn that Reyes and her employers have other plans. They'll have to escape by facing their fears and controlling their powers. Somewhat in that order.

Director Josh Boone and his co-writer, Knate Lee, keep the story at a compact 94 minutes. It's mainly interested in showing the new mutants get along with each other. Dani and Rahne develop a nice romantic relationship, while Ilyana seems to fluctuate between sour and sweet. Sam and Bobby are OK guys with troubled backstories. Dr. Reyes starts off as a warm mentor to the new mutants. But her true colors are so cold it's terrifying. The fear manifestations are creepy up to a point. See the next paragraph for more.

The visual effects once again manifest some good mutant powers. A few highlights include Ilyana's pet dragon, Lockheed, Bobby's ignited form and Sam's blast-offs. Ilyana's fears manifest as eyeless "Smiling Men," whose creepiness is almost threatened by their goofy fanged smiles. But the others, including Rahne's former Priest (Happy Anderson), are perfectly creepy. Meanwhile, the Demon Bear is an excellent CGI monster. The abandoned hospital is a great manifestation of Molly Hughes' production design. It's especially creepy at night. 

The New Mutants obviously won't get any sequels now that Disney's involved. This installment is a decent horror film and a better superhero film. It makes the most of its minimal cast and single setting. It's worth at least a watch on your medium of choice (mine was HBOMax). It's better than nothing as we wait for the X-Men to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whenever that happens...