Only the genre faithful need apply, but this found-footage horror-thriller should put first-time director Richard Raaphorst on Hollywood's radar.
Mighty Mother Russia meets her match in “Frankenstein’s Army,” an enterprising addition to the found-footage horror canon that gleefully and gorily imagines what might have happened if the grandson of Victor Frankenstein had gone to work for the Nazis creating deranged mutants out of mixed-and-matched human and industrial parts. Feature directing debut for veteran concept and storyboard artist Richard Raaphorst is short on plot and long on ingeniously gruesome creature designs and practical special effects that hark back to the industrious 1980s schlockfests churned out by the likes of Frank Henenlotter and Stuart Gordon. Only the genre faithful need apply, but “Frankenstein’s Army” (which is getting a limited theatrical run in concert with a July 26 VOD release) should succeed at putting Raaphorst on Hollywood’s radar.
Related Stories
VIP+Fortnite’s Complicated Return to iOS Is Hardly a Victory
Emmy Duo Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney on Their 'Hacks' and 'Welcome to Wrexham' Nominations — and How His 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Cameo Was Cut
Pic purports to unfold though the lens of Dimitri (Alexander Mercury), a Red Army soldier who has been assigned the making of a propaganda film as his squadron makes its way across wintry Germany in an unspecified year of WWII. Screenwriters Chris Mitchell and Miguel Tejada-Flores (working from an original story by Raaphorst and Tejada-Flores) sketch in the rest of the squad — the usual who’s-who of men-on-a-mission types — with just enough details for us to tell them apart. There’s the intense, purposeful Sergei (Joshua Sasse), revealed early on to be a Polish Jew who escaped to Russia; hair-trigger Vassili (Andrei Zayats), who has major authority issues; fey, immature Sacha (Luke Newberry); and grizzled Sgt. Novikov (Robert Gwilym), a veteran of WWI and the first of the group to bite the dust in (literal) gut-ripping fashion.
Popular on Variety
Early in the film, a cryptic distress call from some fellow Russkies sends the soldiers in the direction of an abandoned mining town. Only, instead of POWs, they find a veritable rabbit warren of strange, man-made creatures who seem to have but one directive: Kill! This kicks off what can best be described as an hourlong monster mash that eventually leads to the lair of Viktor (with a “k”) Frankenstein himself, played by Czech thesp Karel Roden with enough lip-smacking nefariousness to make Josef Mengele look like Hippocrates. Along the way, various soldiers become the not-so-good doctor’s latest guinea pigs.
The creatures — or “zombots,” as they are referred to in the pic’s press notes — are easily the stars of the show, and Raaphorst even brings them on as if they were the members of a demented vaudeville review. Presenting … the man with lobster-claw hands, and now, the man with the spinning-drill-bit proboscis. One Frankenstein spawn even has a literal steel trap where his head ought to be. (The creatures, who sport nicknames like Mosquito, Propellerhead and Overlocker in the press notes, remain anonymous in the pic itself.) The junkyard-chic designs owe something to the Steampunk machine men of Shinya Tsukamoto’s “Tetsuo” series, as well as “The Terminator” and the early films of Peter Jackson (thanked, along with James Cameron, in the end credits). Eschewing CGI in favor of doing things the old-fashioned way, most of the effects work was achieved using dance and mime work, plus touches of fast-motion photography.
Pic’s monotone edges towards monotony by the end of the third act, but as no-budget calling-card features go, “Frankenstein’s Army” remains a grisly cut above.
Read More About:
- Bite the Dust,
- Frankenstein,
- Frankenstein's Army,
- Horror Movies,
- I Frankenstein,
- Ilo Ilo,
- Joshua Martin,
- Luke Scott,
- Meet Jane Casting,
- Monster Squad,
- Mpi Media Group,
- Richard Jackson,
- Richard Raaphorst,
- Richard Todd,
- Spooks,
- Storyboard,
- Stunt Coordinators,
- Todd Brown,
- Vladivostok,
- Wwii
Film Review: ‘Frankenstein’s Army’
Reviewed at Magno screening room, New York, July 9, 2013. (In Rotterdam, Tribeca film festivals.) Running time: 84 MIN.
More from Variety
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl: Martin Lewis to Speak on How Fab Four Ushered in the Outdoor Rock Concert Age
Olympics Screenings in Movie Theaters Highlight Exhibitors’ Need for Alternative Content
Training AI With TV & Film Content: How Licensing Deals Look
Most Popular
Channing Tatum Says Gambit Accent Was Supposed to Be ‘Unintelligible’ at Times and He Was ‘Too Scared to Ask’ Marvel for the Costume to Bring…
Ryan Reynolds Was ‘Mortified’ to Cut Rob McElhenney’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Cameo but the ‘Sequence Wasn’t Working’: ‘I Had to Kill a Darling…
Zach Galifianakis Warns Hollywood Endorsements Could Hurt Kamala Harris: ‘I Do Wish the DNC Would Step Back from the Celebrities a Little Bit…
Box Office: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Returns to No. 1 in Fifth Weekend as ‘The Crow’ Bombs and ‘Blink Twice…
‘Ted Lasso’ Eyes Season 4 Greenlight With Main Cast Members Returning
Denzel Washington Says ‘There Are Very Few Films Left For Me to Make That I'm Interested In’
Chris Hemsworth Plays Drums in Surprise Appearance at Ed Sheeran’s Romania Concert
Dear Beyoncé and Taylor: Thanks for Staying Home. The DNC Benefited From Treating Musicians as Opening Acts, Not Headliners
‘Blink Twice’ Ending Explained: What Really Happens on Channing Tatum’s Island?
Kamala Harris’ Speech Was Powerful and Heartfelt, but Trump's Legacy Has Stilted My Joy
Must Read
- Film
‘Megalopolis’ Trailer’s Fake Critic Quotes Were AI-Generated, Lionsgate Drops Marketing Consultant Responsible For Snafu
- Music
Sabrina Carpenter Teases and Torments on the Masterful — and Devilishly NSFW — 'Short n' Sweet': Album Review
- Film
Tim Burton on Why the 'Batman' Films Have Changed and How 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Saved Him From Retirement
- Film
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Are the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton of the 2020s
Sign Up for Variety Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Variety Confidential
ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXJ%2Fjp%2BgpaVfp7K3tcSwqmieopa7rLHNrKueoZ6oeqK%2BzLJkq52mnrK4eZBrZ2ltZmeGd4OO