Colony Mutation (1995) (Blu-ray Review)
DIRECTED BY: Tom Berna
STARRING: Joan Dinco, David Rommel, Anna Zizzo
RATED: UR/Region: O/1:33/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 1
AVAILABLE FROM Visual Vengeance
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a soap opera meltdown collided headfirst with a jar of radioactive goo and a backyard effects lab, Colony Mutation (1995) is here to answer that extremely specific question.
Directed by Tom Berna and shot on gloriously gritty 8mm, this is the kind of movie that doesn’t just embrace its low budget—it rolls around in it like it’s found money in a couch cushion. The grainy look actually works in its favor, giving everything that grimy, “you found this tape in a cursed thrift store” aesthetic that a lot of bigger films try (and fail) to replicate.
The plot is pure drive-in madness: a scorned genetic scientist decides therapy is overrated and instead injects her cheating husband with an unstable serum. Naturally, his body responds in the most reasonable way possible—by having his limbs and parts detach, mutate, and go full cannibalistic gremlin mode. From there, it’s less “man versus monster” and more “man versus his own extremely bitey midlife crisis.”
Where Colony Mutation really shines is in its stop-motion work. And yeah, “shines” might sound generous for a movie like this—but honestly, the effects have a scrappy charm that’s hard not to love. The writhing, independently moving body parts feel like something out of a deranged art project, and you can tell actual time and care went into making them feel alive (and disgustingly hungry).
Is it polished? Not even close. The acting wobbles, the pacing sometimes meanders like it’s also been injected with unstable serum, and the dialogue occasionally sounds like it was written during a caffeine crash. But that’s also part of the appeal. This is peak “micro-budget weirdness”—the kind of movie that exists purely because someone had a wild idea and refused to let things like money, logic, or good taste stop them.
At the end of the day, Colony Mutation doesn’t reinvent horror—it gleefully dismembers it and lets the pieces run loose. And somehow, against all odds, it works. If you’ve got a soft spot for shot-on-video oddities, DIY effects, and stories that escalate from “marital issues” to “rampaging flesh chunks” in record time, this one’s a messy little gem.
Extras
- Region free Blu-ray
- New, director supervised 2K transfer and restoration from original Super 8 film elements
- Commentary from producer/ director Tom Berna
- Commentary with Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
- Interview with director Tom Berna
- Interview with star David Rommel
- Interview with music composer Patrick Nettesheim
- In the Director’s Chair: archival public access interview with Tom Berna
- Alternate original 1998 VHS version of Colony Mutation
- Alternate original 2013 DVD version of Colony Mutation
- Complete original script
- Image Gallery
- Producer teaser trailer
- Visual Vengeance trailers
- Optional English subtitles
- ‘Stick Your Own’ VHS stickers
- Reversible sleeve featuring original VHS art
- Folded poster with original illustrated art
- Booklet with liner notes by Tony Strauss – FIRST PRESSING ONLY AND WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
- Limited edition O-Card with art by Justin Coons – FIRST PRESSING ONLY AND WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
