Frankenstein Reborn

when i see a movie review with such polarized opinion, i want to give it a chance. i bought this as a previously viewed DVD from a national video rental chain and only paid $5. not worth the $5. all the bad has been said already.

the acting is about on the par of a softcore film on cinemax. bleh. the only thing i liked about it (maybe didn't dislike is more appropriate) is that the actresses in this movie are pleasing to look at.

i didn't think i would be getting a great movie here and biy was i right. the worst movie i have seen a quite sometime.

this one's going in the garage sale pile.

The film was made in 9 days and it shows. In particular, the budget obviously wasn't large enough to cover a decent recording system. Through out the film in scenes of dialog (and for a horror film there are a LOT of scenes of dialog), the character in screen is recorded loud and clear and the off screen, second voice is inaudible.

Music video-style fast cuts and scene shifts that move backwards and forwards in time are not so much confusing as meant to try and downplay the lack of much plot or its illogic.

The cast is generally quite good and makes a good attempt to overcome the inadequacies of the script and production.

This modern retelling of Mary Shelleys classic Frankenstein is brought to you by The Asylum, do I really need to continue?

Asylum is infamous for making bad movies and "Mockbusters" and here we have one of three connected movies by them where it appears they were trying to create a monster universe. First came this then Beast of Bray Road (2005) and then Dracula's Curse (2006) so we have Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman on display.

For some reason they have much of the same cast yet playing different characters which seems like a poor choice. Then again it's The Asylum so I shouldn't be surprised.

Again it's a very loose modern adaptation, certain elements will look familiar but ultimately it forges it's own identity and that's more than slightly a bad thing. Frankenstein Reborn ticks all the usual Asylum boxes, yet is actually a bit better than usual somehow.

The creature looks better than you'd imagine, and the plot is passable. Sadly that's where it ends, the acting is appalling, the pacing is bizarre and the whole thing just doesn't flow.

Passable for an Asylum film, still bad compared to everything else.

The Good:

The monster looks okay

The Bad:

Victor "Frank", really?

A few plot holes

Poorly constructed

Sarah Lieving is wasted

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

It's like the Asylum is making one of every movie just so they can prove they can't make anything successfully

Australian-American-Italian-Swiss Victor Frank who graduated from Harvard just didn't sit right with me

Where to begin? First off, most of the film is flashbacks. Second, the beginning was stupid, and third, a lot of boring dialog and bad actors. The monster is quite disturbing and so is his roar. They had small parts like when a woman is shown for 2 minutes and is killed. There was parts when i felt like turning it off but I had nothing else to do. After the credits end, there is a minute of the screen pitch black and the music still going. I bet it was to make the movie a minute longer. I gave it a 3, because I like b-horror films,i like Frankenstein movies and you have to give Leigh some credit. My recommendation: if you see it at the video store, tell a person working there that it is a waste of money for you to rent that. So stay away as far as possible. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I was expecting little from Frankenstein Reborn, considering The Asylum's reputation. But while it is far from a good movie, as far as Asylum movies go it is not that bad. The monster is actually very menacing in disturbing in look, the opening scene is gory and really promises much and Thomas Downey, Joel Hebner and especially Rhett Giles, finally in a role that gives him something worthwhile to do, are remarkably good in their roles. Sadly, what the opening scene promises is not matched with the rest of the movie. Visually, Frankenstein Reborn is very amateurish, the settings look as though they are somebody's basement, the camera work is rushed-looking and tries to do too much that you don't feel any connection with anything you see and the effects are very cheaply rendered. The music is overbearing, poorly utilised and is not fitting with the rest of the film at all. As a consequence, the scares and tension are further severely diluted. The script has very little of interest, it is very talky and a lot of it reads of aimless exposition. It is cringe-worthy in a cheesy sense also. I knew that Frankenstein Reborn was not going to be faithful to Mary Shelley's story, Asylum movie adaptations never have been, so that wasn't an issue. However, the predictable way the story is told, the many sluggish and needless scenes and the unoriginal and non-scary killings really let the side down. The gore is not so bad visuals-wise, but does little to enhance the atmosphere, which generally just wasn't there. The characters are ones I found myself indifferent to, other than the monster, Victor and Robert they are annoying. The rest of the acting is very bland and passionless. Overall, not a good movie but not a really bad one either, it promised much and does try hard but with largely disappointing results. 4/10 Bethany Cox