Dark Mullet review

Dark Mullet is the new release from Don Punaton Productions:

Anticipation is a human emotion that, when harnessed properly, can bring great success to a motion picture, or doom it to obscurity for failing to live up to enhanced expectations.

Director Allen Scott of Don Punaton Productions found himself riding an anticipation wave with the announcement of producing a movie based on the Scott Farms superhero comic Dark Mullet. He, along with co-executive producer Seth Binderup, then found that wave growing when unexpected delays pushed the film’s release back to Christmas of 2004. How would this film play to loyal Don Punaton fans who had waited almost three years since the release of The Christmas Project for another full-length film?

As it turns out, pretty well. The film is a cinematic, action-filled tour-de-excitement, with an easy to follow plot with unexpected twists and turns, and a thrilling ending that will leave fans begging for a sequel.

As a young child, Sam Samson (played in the child role by debuting Ethan Cole) learns from his dying grandfather that his last name has more than biblical themes…he is actually the direct descendant of the biblical Samson, whom God granted superhuman abilities with the corresponding length of his hair. Samson learns this gift comes with a powerful responsibility—he must take over for his grandfather, and assume to role of the follicularly-enhanced superhero, Dark Mullet.

Flipping ahead 15 years to the future, Samson (now played by Scott himself) is now defending the crime-ridden city of Tulelake, often beating to punch the police commissioner O’Hara (David Campbell), while passing himself off as a mild-mannered prosecuting attorney.

During a press conference one day, Tulelake is stunned by the sudden appearance of former Massachusetts senator Phillip Dagon (Binderup), who was forced to leave the Senate after a near-fatal car accident. With a new secretary, the hypnotizing Miss Deliah (Meredith Polk) and loyal bodyguard Gunter (Kevin Marcussen) at his side, Dagon announces his return to politics with a planned run for the presidency of the United States.

Dagon’s platform, however, rests on a difficult issue—locating Dark Mullet and utilizing his superhuman abilities. Away from the public eye, Dagon has become power-mad, and wants Dark Mullet’s hair, no matter what it takes. That, of course, includes kidnapping world-renouned scientist Dr. Carl Vidrickson (Adam Alcorn) and freeing from custody notorious supercriminal The Stylist (Jimmy Havlina)

As Dagon starts lining his ducks in a row for plans of world domination, Samson does not entirely trust Dagon, but will soon find himself in a battle, with the future of us all at stake.

Also providing strong supporting roles in the film are David Todd, Luke DuVal, Brad Kirby, Ryan Petty and Nick Scott, Allen’s younger brother, who should take over Ted Raimi’s role as best actor who is the younger brother of a prominent director any day now.

Danny Elfman provides a dynamite soundtrack, even outside of songs provided by, among others, the Beatles and Velvet Revolver.

Rumor has it that the script for at least one sequel has already been created, and Dark Mullet has set the bar high. But if any production team can meet that level, it’s the group at Don Punaton.

--Review by Robert LaHue