In the year 2031, the (mad?) scientist Dr. Buchanan, played by John Hurt, gets sucked into a time portal by accident and is transported back through time a few hundred years. At first he has no idea of where he is, but after a quick dinner with a mysterious man, Buchanan thinks he knows. The man is actually Dr. Frankenstein himself! At first Buchanan is excited about the situation, but after he encounters a well-known historical monster, he is more than anxious to find a way to return to his time.
Director Roger Corman´s comeback is not as good as it should have been. With an original and interesting story and a really good actor in the leading role, this should have been ace. The start is very promising, but then the monster enters and everything collapses. The monster is poorly made and it almost behaves like an American wrestler from the WWF, not like the scary creature it is supposed to be. The effects when the monster kills people are also laughable. And in the end the story just becomes to much to handle. The ending is pure idiocy. Buchanan´s talking car is a pleasure to watch though, even if it looks like something that didn´t make it to the set of "Knight Rider".
I love John Hurt, I really do. But why does he have to make so strange career choices? I loved him in "The Elephant Man" and "Alien", but since then he hasn´t done much work worth seeing. But John Hurt is always worth seeing, and this case is not an exception. Hurt actually saves the movie from being a total disaster. Raul Julia and Bridget Fonda also do a job well done, as Dr. Victor Frankenstein respectively the author Mary Shelley.
But this is still a big disappointment, with both the science fiction and the horror elements lacking in creativity. Nice settings and good acting saves this one.
* * out of * * * * *
Director Roger Corman´s comeback is not as good as it should have been. With an original and interesting story and a really good actor in the leading role, this should have been ace. The start is very promising, but then the monster enters and everything collapses. The monster is poorly made and it almost behaves like an American wrestler from the WWF, not like the scary creature it is supposed to be. The effects when the monster kills people are also laughable. And in the end the story just becomes to much to handle. The ending is pure idiocy. Buchanan´s talking car is a pleasure to watch though, even if it looks like something that didn´t make it to the set of "Knight Rider".
I love John Hurt, I really do. But why does he have to make so strange career choices? I loved him in "The Elephant Man" and "Alien", but since then he hasn´t done much work worth seeing. But John Hurt is always worth seeing, and this case is not an exception. Hurt actually saves the movie from being a total disaster. Raul Julia and Bridget Fonda also do a job well done, as Dr. Victor Frankenstein respectively the author Mary Shelley.
But this is still a big disappointment, with both the science fiction and the horror elements lacking in creativity. Nice settings and good acting saves this one.
* * out of * * * * *