The Frankenstein Theory

OK right from the get go I have to say I was biased by an issue that plagues a lot of media nowadays - the worship of youth, and the unreal way in which it is portrayed so often. In this movie we have a bunch of twenty-something kids masquerading as adults, one of whom we are supposed to believe is a college professor with a PhD. We really need to stop pandering to 'young adults' who wanna pretend they're actually adults, but that's an entirely different rant. Problem is, this pseudo- real world of the kids who made this flick runs thru the fabric of the whole movie. But I soldiered on, and did my best to suspend my "this is really stupid" reflex. I probably should have listened to that first reflex, because the movie never really took off. It's a pseudo- documentary style, but the script is pretty weak and formulaic, and there are no solid actors in the bunch; no one with on screen charisma to draw you in. The scares are few, and not very scary, honestly. I'm not sure how I keep getting drawn into these independent, handi-cam shot, "found footage" films that all end up looking like a college art project (and maybe are.) I guess I keep hoping to stumble across some gem that will be original, not stupid, and genuinely spooky, like "The Blair Witch Project" or "Paranormal Activity," but I guess I'll have to keep looking, because this wasn't it.

I think what bothered me the most about this movie is that it couldn't decide what kind of movie it would be. Is this a found footage documentary or is it a traditional movie? It's hard to suspend belief when things like this are inconsistent. For instance, there are 5 people in the group at one point. They are all in a tent. The camera holder is in a sleeping bag. So who is holding the camera? Also, if this is found footage, what is there music and sounds during the "boo" moments? It was questions like these that made it hard for me to get into. It was pretty slow, but I appreciate the slow burn kinda movie, so that didn't bug me too much. The acting was solid. Nothing great, but nothing laughable, either.

I've seen worse much worse. Nearly everything bad about this movie was redeemable except for the sound effects.

The plot is somewhat original. There are many movies/stories built on the premise of some fiction actually being sourced from some fantastical actuality in history.

I thought the acting was quite good considering the quality and budget of the film. A few recognizable faces. The acting and premise actually were the saving graces of this film.

The pace was very slow, but that is to be expected from this type of film.

The special effects were non-existent which was great. I've seen too many straight to netflix movies that try to make something happen graphically that is simply not in the budget.

Now for me the Foley artists really killed the film experience for me. As soon as I hear a monster scream/roar regurgitated from some of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons and commercials the entire effect of horror is ruined. Especially when its a mockumentary. Why not just make up some sounds instead of using stock Foley sounds that everyone recognizes??

Honestly never got the "story" to this movie. I almost turned it off in the beginning during a drawn out 'interview' stage, but decided to give it a little while longer... reached to turn it off again due to irritation at a relationship based on a woman who apparently despises her boyfriend, only around to yell at him in front of others, then talk behind his back and berate him... yet, upon heading out to get a drink, I returned, it was still on and watched some more. It turned out to be the worst thing I have watched this year, for sure. Possible the worst I have watched in the past couple years (nothing comes to mind that can out-rank it in crappiness). Seriously thinking the 10 * ratings that go into music and other details (I do not even remember music other than one song toward the end; and I will admit it was not bad... only reason I did not balk at being made to give 1 star and no 0 stars available) are made by people associated with the film, especially when there is only ONE review made by them on the accounts. lol

The Frankenstein Theory is far from a masterpiece but I didn't find it nearly as bad as some have made it out to be.

It IS a total copy of "Blair Witch Project" with just the location changed, but that being said it's a reasonable recreation. I was never on the edge of my seat but the movie accomplished an important goal - it kept me interested enough to make me watch until the end.

The Frankenstein Theory also does a decent job (albeit slowly) of ramping up the tension until it climaxes in the last 10 minutes or so of the film.

There's nothing original here but as basic entertainment it's really not that bad. 5 out of 10.