In the contemporary style of Frankenstein 1970, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, Frankenstein's Daughter, The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Re-animator and (for its comparable collection of body parts) Blood Feast, comes the brash and unpretentious, The Last Frankenstein, writer/director David Weaver's gory, 2021/Gila Films submission, circulated through 2024 and now available on several, streaming outlets. (For the record, this Last Frankenstein shouldn't be confused with the 1991, Japanese satire of the same name.)
Weaver's somber, Mary Shelley, Amsterdam, NY-based derivative is led by Jason Frankenstein, portrayed by William Barnet (who projects a remarkable, Robert Walker Jr. aura, for those who care to take note). The diligent, t-shirt-favoring Jason learned much from his father (Brett Owen) and grandfather (Robert Dix of Frankenstein's Daughter/Forbidden Planet/Blood of Dracula's Castle/The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse) when it comes to reviving the cadavers and now wishes to advance the family business, no matter the immortal or immoral cost.
Jason, we also discover, is quite the ladies man, relegating him to the likes of Peter Cushing's Baron Frankenstein, as well as Whit Bissell's I Was a Teenage Frankenstein descendant and Jason Ever's playboy-ish Dr. Cortner of Brain That Wouldn't Die. In conjunction with this, a number of attractive women populate the plot, including Jana Szabela's Penny (a surrogate Elizabeth Lavenza) and Keelie Sheridan's Nurse Paula (a deft, surgical assistant), plus Christina Dixon Reeves' Barb, Greta Volkova's Candace, Olga N. Bogdanova's Shauna, Charity Buckbee's Cassie and Amy Freinberg's Regina Carroll.
The Carroll moniker is a nod to director Al (Dracula vs. Frankenstein/Blood of Ghastly Horror/Brain of Blood) Adamson's actress/singer/dancer wife, but there are other characters who share thespian names, including John Mac Schnurr's Gary Clarke, the latter in How to Make a Monster/Missile to the Moon, and Michael Wetherbee's John Ashley, also in How to Make a Monster and Eddie Romero's Frankenstein-ish, Blood Island franchise. (Both namesake characters end up sacrificed for Jason's work, with Wetherbee enacting the doctor's foremost creation for substantial parts of the production, while Roderick Klimek plays the second.) There's also the nifty name drop of Nicholson/Arkoff (founders of A.I.P.); Bill (Strange Behavior/The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse) Boleson's roundabout homage to Bill Thurman (the latter of Curse of the Swamp Creature/The Eye Creatures/It's Alive!); a Richard E. Cunha (director of Frankenstein's Daughter/Missile to the Moon/She Demons) utterance for a memorial-home pickup; and still another cites Brad Crandall, narrator of such resurrection hits as In Search of Historic Jesus and Beyond and Back. (As a further, possible allusion, a fleeting backdrop resembles the poolside segment of Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster and/or perhaps the song-and-dance décor of Frankenstein's Daughter.)
In addition, Last Frankenstein holds a handy, Burke-and-Hare component, with Ulisses Gonsalves' Kevin Winsted and Jeff Riano's Randolph Strock (a nudge to Teenage Frankenstein/How to Make a Monster's director, Herbert L. Strock) as conscienceless paramedics, who'll gladly murder for a buck.
This updated, Burke-and-Hare concept clicks with Last Frankenstein's contemporary climate, which presents no-frills, suburban backdrops, including Frankenstein's unassuming laboratory, in line with the one from Jess Franco's The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein.
Some might favor a sleeker look to things, but the plebian ambiance gives the story a close-to-the-bone chill, something that Teenage Frankenstein, Daughter of Frankenstein and Brain That Wouldn't Die possess, as well as the original Night of the Living Dead, Carnival of Souls and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. (Steve Noir's eerie, ambient score adds much to the simple-but-saturating grain.)
Beyond these elements, the story works because it's character driven. In other words, the familiar turf holds one's interest because of its stark, "everyman" angle, making the situations all the more startling when they turn ultra-violent.
Jarod Balog and Shawn Malloy's Savini-styled effects underscore the savagery, with the monster designs being Jason Voorhees-influenced, though with a patchwork format that fits Frankenstein expectations.
As with Bernard Rose's 2015 modernized Frankenstein, Weaver's attempt should secure a cult following; based on its accumulating reviews, it's edging there. Indeed, Last Frankenstein once more proves that, more often than not, it's the independents who reach the most indelible heights.
(The Last Frankenstein is available free of charge on Tubi and YouTube. Give it a wise whirl.)
No comments:
Post a Comment