The New Mutants (2020): Haunted Hospital, Mutant Teens, and the Movie That Barely Was 🌀🏥🧟

Directed by Josh Boone, The New Mutants was supposed to be a bold new direction—a horror twist on the X-Men universe. But after multiple delays, reshoots that never happened, and a release in the middle of a pandemic, it landed with more of a confused thud than a scream.

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Blu Hunt, Charlie Heaton, and Henry Zaga, it’s a compact, isolated story that mashes up coming-of-age drama, teen romance, mutant powers, and horror-lite jump scares… with mixed results.

Plot Summary
Five young mutants are held in a mysterious facility “for their own safety” as they learn to control their dangerous powers. But surprise—it’s actually a creepy psychological prison run by a shady organization (cough Essex Corp cough). As they face terrifying hallucinations tied to their traumas, it becomes clear something way more sinister is going on.

The group must learn to trust each other, face their darkest fears, and escape before they’re turned into mutant lab rats—or worse.

Performances & Direction
Anya Taylor-Joy is electric as Magik, even when the script turns her into an edgy stereotype. Maisie Williams brings softness and depth as Rahne, and her romance with Dani (Blu Hunt) is sweet and surprisingly tender. Charlie Heaton's Sam and Henry Zaga's Roberto are… fine. But the movie doesn’t give any of them enough time to really shine.

The direction leans into atmosphere, but the horror never gets truly scary, and the pacing feels off. It’s more like a CW superhero pilot with a horror filter. The idea had potential—but somewhere between rewrites and studio interference, that spark got smothered.

My Review
The New Mutants had all the ingredients to be something cool: a fresh genre blend, a smaller, character-focused story, and mutant trauma as literal horror. But instead, it ends up feeling like the ghost of a better movie that never fully got made.

Still, I appreciate the attempt. There's heart in the quiet moments—like Rahne and Dani's bond, or the way trauma and powers are intertwined. It’s about facing your fears, embracing what makes you different, and realizing your past doesn't define you.

Not the mutant horror movie we were promised, but it is a strange little epilogue to the X-Men saga. And maybe that’s fitting.