Mutant Chronicles

“At the end of the ice age the ‘machine’ came… it came with one purpose to change man into mutant.”

And, with that briefest of explanations, so begins the “Mutant Chronicles.” From the battlefields of what appears to be the middle-ages, the ‘machine’ is apparently defeated and sealed underground.

Jumping to the year 2707 finds Earth controlled by four (4) Corporations which are in a perpetual state of war with each other. The armies of two of those corporations engage, unknowingly, on a battlefield directly above the machine. One errant missile later and the mutants have escaped to plague the world again. Using the dead and dying, the mutants drag ‘new recruits’ back to the machine, creating millions more and threatening to bring about the end of the world.

Brother Samuel (Ron Perlman) is from a brotherhood of monks that have kept the “Sacred Book of the Chronicles” in their mountain retreat over the centuries. The ‘book’ speaks of a deliverer who will save them in the final battle. When the corporations decide to abandon Earth and move a few chosen survivors to off-world colonies, Brother Samuel receives the blessing of the Corporations’ head, Constantine (John Malkovich), to form a small team of seasoned soldiers led by Mitch Hunter (Thomas Jane) to destroy the machine and save what is left of humanity.

Objectionable Content

The violence is intense and very graphic, earning the film’s ‘R’ rating. In battle, soldiers are gassed and wretch in response. Bullets and explosions visibly take their toll, and blood and guts are evident everywhere. A dying friend is put out of his misery, and, though presented as an act of mercy, it was carried out mercilessly.

As for the mutants, the former human’s have morphed spear-like arms and use them to impale any and all humans—usually in the head. They are small arms resistant and as relentless as zombies. Being that many have already died, this is not far from the truth.

As you might imagine, the language is foul and touches upon most major curses, including every variant of the “F” word. Likewise, the Lord’s name is blasphemed and taken in vain on multiple occasions.

Most notable is the film’s presentation of religion. At its minimum, it parodies Christianity, and at its worst, it out and outright attacks it. The world in this film presents a brotherhood of monks, intentionally shrouded in Christian attire, and it is through Brother Samuel that we hear some of its tenets, which attempt to mix some truth with outright blasphemy. There are numerous examples of this.

The ‘sacred book’ speaks of a deliverer who will walk reborn and save them. In reality, this role belongs solely to Jesus Christ who, “…died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15). Instead, the main character, Mitch Hunter, is proclaimed by brother Samuel as “Apostate. Unbeliever. Savior.”

The film hints at the battle between light and dark and that the enemy, in the form of the machine, descended, as on high, from space. This is a twisted view of the truth, for the Word clearly teaches us that “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” (Ephesians 6:12).

Early on, Brother Samuel says to the ruling council—in a bizarrely contradictory statement for a holy man, “I am a man of faith… I’m asking… have faith, not in me, not even in this, but faith in man.” The Bible throughout asserts the opposite, and Jesus himself exhorts us to “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).

The sword-wielding Severian, the only female monk to accompany the band, admits that, although trained in the monastery, she cannot read the holy book: “I can’t read! I don’t need to read it to believe it’s true. That’s the nature of faith.”

This line perhaps best exemplifies what Hollywood in general thinks of Christians and shows how little they understand about faith.

From the beginning, the Word was given so that man would have direction. “These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you… so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live… so that you may enjoy long life” (Deuteronomy 6:1-2).

The whole of the Bible was meant to be read and understood. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

This is the hope that is sorely missed in this vision of Earth’s future.

Based on a role-playing game from the 90’s, “Mutant Chronicles” insults the intelligence of the viewer in not choosing to explain itself and ‘plays’ as though it were nothing more than a modern day zombie-themed video game. I cannot recommend this film on any level, let alone from a Christian standpoint, and the violence and language should put it out of reach of its sole target audience: teens. My advice to all, stay away from this movie.

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.