FRANKENSTEIN REBORN! (1998)
In the late 90's, Charles Band planned to make streamlined, teen-centric versions of classic monster mashes. The idea was to send four into development, but only two got past the "concept art" stage. I reviewed the other one - The Werewolf Reborn! - years ago. If you can stomach my annoying writing style (eh, I tended to use profanity as a crutch), I'd say I gave the film a fair shake. That's all I can promise to the creative team behind Frankenstein Reborn!, and wow, that exclamation point is already driving me nuts. At any rate, this little trinket sports an in-house crew for Full Moon. It was directed by David DeCoteau (under some wonky pseudonym, naturally) and written by Neil Marshall Stevens, a guy who has written...everything. My expectations weren't exactly high, at least not as high as I probably needed to be in order to enjoy this viewing experience. All jokes aside, Frankenstein Reborn! doesn't fall flat on its face.
That may not hit you with the same gravity as more conventional compliments, but I was impressed by this flick's ability to present itself as passable entertainment. The story is easy to follow. By the end of the first act (I considered using quotation marks there, as the running time barely sneezes over the 70-minute mark), the monster has jettisoned his bandages and escaped the laboratory. Our main character is a sweet, gullible lass who attempts to befriend the grunting brute. The make-up effects are strange. We end up with something that resembles, um, try to imagine if Christopher Lee in The Curse of Frankenstein had a bratty teenaged son. We do get plenty of spooky ambience. Reborn! was shot in Romania and the settings are quite nice. Look, this movie isn't going to change your life. It certainly won't top any lists of the best Frankenstein adaptations of all time. I'll recommend it to fans of the lesser titles in the Full Moon catalog. So basically, I'm recommending it to myself.
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