Blu-Ray Review: The Mule

By Brad Henderson

Leigh Whannell, along with his partner in crime, James Wan, erupted onto the scene with Saw back into 2004. Together they wrote some of the sequels, plus Dead Silence, and Insidious 1 & 2 (and soon to be part 3) Now Whannell has brought us a non-horror flick, The Mule.

When I first heard about The Mule I thought it was going to be a comedy. Even though Leigh Whannell is known for horror, a lot of his films contain a good amount of dark comedy even if they are terrifying. If you remember Insidious, Leigh Whannell plays the paranormal investigator character of Specs and Angus Simpson plays his partner. When these two are together on screen they bring comedy to the table. So when they are both behind a screenplay that has to deal with a guy hiding drugs up his ass I can’t help to think it’s going to be a comedy. This wasn’t.

Of course The Mule has its funny moments, but for the most part this is a straightforward drama that takes itself very seriously. Even hearing the plot to this movie makes you laugh because it sounds like a comedy, but instead we are given a drama with a few twists and turns right until the very end. A first-time drug mule is caught by the police under the suspicion of concealing drugs in his rectum. A couple of agents (one played by the amazing Hugo Weaving) stick our main character into a hotel room for seven days waiting for him to shit them out. That obviously sounds like a comedy but I assure you it’s not.

At this point Leigh Whannell is on fire. Even if you’re not into the Insidious franchise (most aren’t) I would suggest giving this a shot. I love to see writers that are known for a genre and then all of a sudden split from it and make a hit like this. It’s also surprising how good of an actor Whannell is as well. Sure, he has had small roles in his films but this is his biggest role at this point and he is damn good. Let’s also not forget Angus Simpson who does a phenomenal job as well, being charismatic, pathetic, and freaking hilarious. There’s never a dull moment when he is on screen.

I’m really hoping we get more like this from this duo and I’m stoked that they are both returning for Insidious 3 and with bigger roles. It’s an awesome thing to watch filmmakers grow and Leigh Whannell is one to watch out for.

The Mule was released on January 20 through XLrator Media.