Frankenstein Unbound (1990)

Director: Roger Corman
Starring: John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda

Synopsis:
A scientist's superweapon open up a time rift that sends him to 19th Century Geneva, where the creation of Victor Frankestein is terrorizing the local populace.

Impressions:
Going into this, all I saw was that it was directed by Roger Corman (the last film he would direct) and starring John Hurt and Raul Julia, which was enough for me. As it began, I thought it was going to be a near-future scifi adaptation of the Frankenstein, but then the time slip happens and it turns out that the Frankenstein story is playing out during that fateful summer of 1816 when Mary not-yet-Shelley wrote the story. This was an interesting concept, but I feel that a lot of opportunity was wasted. The conflict between Buchanan and Frankenstein would have had more impact if more time was spent building up their budding friendship, maybe even have Buchanan assist with Frankenstein's experiments before things go awry. Also, I wish there was more to establish Buchanan's admiration of Mary, but some suspect this was the author of the original novel living vicariously through his protagonist. Speaking of the original novel, most of the plotting issues seem to stem from the source, which is a shame because a little more work could have made this story a really rewarding experience. I did like Hurt and Julia's performances (though I would've liked to see more of Julia) and Nick Brimble was rather good as a take on the monster more in line with Shelley's story. The final product is a bit of a mess but it's intriguing enough to warrant a watch in my book, but for most viewers, it's more or a take it or leave it deal.

Rating:
50/50