Maniac Recommendation: Frankenstein Unbound (1990)
I find it rather odd that until recently I hadn’t even heard of the film Frankenstein Unbound and it seemed strange to me. A Frankenstein film, directed and written by Roger Corman starring John Hurt, Raul Julia and Bridget Fonda – and I didn’t know of its existence! I figured that this problem must be fixed, so I added it to my viewing list, and waited in excitement to check it out.
I actually decided to steer clear of reading up about the film, and when it began I saw it was set in the future… Wait, what? Much like with the other Corman film I watched more recently (The Raven), this isn’t a straight adaptation; instead it is based upon the novel by Brian Aldiss with a very ambitious plot and twist on the classic story.
It's set in the not-too-distant future, where a weapon of sorts has been created which is meant to be something safe, but actually has side effects. One of which is timeslides, and one takes Dr. Joe Buchanan (John Hurt) back to the time before story of Frankenstein was written. He discovers the work of Mary Shelley is based on truth, although in this time she is not yet a Shelley (played by Bridget Fonda). Dr. Victor Frankenstein is indeed real (in the form of Raul Julia) and he has created a monster (Nick Brimble).
Posted by Marcey Papandrea - 22/02/2013
To say I was taken by surprise is an understatement; as the film started I actually said “W-T-F” out loud. But I was very curious, and I was immediately hooked in and I wanted to see how the film would play out. It contains such wonderful ideas, and as I said, this is such an ambitious film. There are such interesting themes at play, and perhaps it contained a little too much to be fully explored in the film.
Frankenstein Unbound is a rather entertaining piece, and it kept me engaged throughout. I think the execution was perhaps a little weak, but still this is something I enjoyed and I was very glad I got to see it. The performances are great, and Raul Julia certain steals the show as Dr. Frankenstein. This is a very interesting experiment from Roger Corman, but I find they mostly are when he is in the director’s chair.
☆☆☆
