When you hear mutants, you probably think of the X-Men. They’ve been off our screens for a few years, but they are one of the most important super groups in the history of comics, and they’ve had plenty of movie representation over the years. Mutant-kind isn’t confined to the X-Men, though. There are plenty of other great movies that feature mutants, and they span a wide variety of genres. The best movies with mutants include a few movies with X-Men, but also plenty of movies with other mutants who range all the way from terrifying to tragic.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Perhaps the most famous mutants outside of the X-Men, the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is a pretty solid encapsulation of what the turtles are all about. Thanks to some innovative puppetry from none other than Jim Henson, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie also holds up remarkably well. If you want to introduce your kids to the concept of mutants for some reason, this movie would be a great place to start. It’s a pretty classic origin story and one that still works in spite of the glut of superheroes we’ve seen since.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
The time travel movie that acted a little bit like X-Men‘s version of The Avengers, Days of Future Past is pretty convoluted, but it works thanks in large part to its stellar cast and a standout slow-motion sequence featuring Quicksilver. The X-Men saga peaked here, and has basically been all downhill in the years since. For one bright moment, though, it seemed like Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy could really make this thing work.
The Fly (1986)
If the X-Men are a little too mainstream for you, you may be interested in The Fly, a horrific movie where a scientist finds himself slowly transforming into a human/fly hybrid after an experiment gone wrong. This early Jeff Goldblum, David Cronenburg collaboration is every bit as gnarly as a movie about a man who turns into a fly probably should be. If you’re into body horror, The Fly is an excellent place to start.
X2: X-Men United (2003)
This sequel to the first X-Men proved that this was a franchise that could last. The original X-Men feels a little dated in an era filled with superhero movies, but X2 holds up beautifully, in part because it manages to take full advantage of the metaphor that’s always been at the heart of the X-Men. Being a mutant means being an other, and the ostracism that these mutants feel is at the heart of this story. Thanks to strong work from Hugh Jackman and Famke Jannson in particular, X2 feels just as vibrant as it did in 2003.
The Descent (2005)
The Descent is exactly not about mutants, but it is a mutant monster that hunts our stranded rock climber protagonists. The movie, which tells the story of a group of friends who get lost while spelunking, is ultimately about what they find when they start diving into those caves. The answer to that question is a group of truly horrific mutants who seem to be evolved from humans, but have learned to live completely underground and without sunlight. Personally, I think humans are better looking.
Godzilla (1954)
Perhaps the original mutant, Godzilla‘s first incarnation in the 1954 movie that shares his name, may still be the best. Although there have been literally dozens of iterations of the character since, the original Godzilla dealt with the fallout of Japan’s nuclear history. He’s as clear a symbol as any of the lingering trauma all over post-war Japan, and he also happens to be a giant lizard who can tear down buildings with his enormous tail. Few characters have had a larger impact on pop culture, one that continues more than 60 years after his introduction.
Logan (2017)
A fitting end to Hugh Jackman’s time playing Wolverine, Logan is also a pretty careful consideration of Wolverine’s inherent violence and the trauma he’s accumulated over the course of his life. Logan will satisfy those who are looking for a pure, adrenaline-driven action movie, but it will also satisfy those who are looking for something a little more thoughtful and ruminative. It’s not an accident that this was one of the first superhero movies to be nominated for a screenwriting Oscar.
Batman Returns (1992)
Batman Returns (and Tim Burton more generally) are fascinated with people who might conventionally be called freaks. Of the major characters in this movie, the Penguin is probably the only one who could definitively be described as a mutant, but the entire ensemble is full of people who have something animalistic in them. Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman is a woman who dies and is brought back to life by cats, and Danny DeVito’s Penguin is truly horrific, even as we come to understand that he’s also a sympathetic character.
28 Days Later (2002)
You may think of 28 Days Later as a zombie movie, but they make it very clear that the creatures in this movie are mutants who have been changed by a virus. That may explain what makes 28 Days Later so thrilling. The mutants are truly menacing, and the speed and force with which they attack makes them somewhat unique in the world of zombie movies. 28 Weeks Later and I Am Legend are also worthy entries in this mutants as zombies genre, but 28 Days Later reins supreme over this tiny genre of stories.
Total Recall (1990)
Another movie where the mutants aren’t really the point, Total Recall is a mind-bending story about a man in the distant future who finds that the life he’s been leading is really just a carefully constructed simulation. What makes Total Recall so endlessly rewatchable, though, is that it’s set in an immersive world where humans co-exist with robotic intelligence as well as plenty of mutants. It’s not quite as wild as the Mos Eisley cantina, but there are certain sequences in Total Recall that feel truly imaginative, and the mutants are a huge part of that.
