Title: The Frankenstein Theory
Directed by: Andrew Weiner
Starring: Kris Lemche, Brian Henderson, Heather Stephens, Joe Egender, Timothy V. Murphy
Running time: 87 minutes, Not Rated
Special Features: None
A “found footage” film about a group of filmmakers who travel to the Northwest Territories of Canada in search of a monster that inhabits the forest that may have been the basis for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
The whole premise is just dumb. Let’s all go into the middle of nowhere where it’s freezing cold, miles from civilization and cell phone reception and try to film a murderous monster…a monster that supposedly existed 200 years ago, yet is still orangutan strong and deadly. Then let’s split up after our gear is trashed and look for said monster. Nothing bad will happen right?
Blair Witch is 14 years old and still we get films like this one trying to live up to a movie that really wasn’t good to begin with. Yes the concept of “found footage” is intriguing, but it’s been done already, several times over. Per the standard with these films, you don’t even get to see the “monster” until the very end and it looks like the unibomber in animal hides. Really? That’s what we waited through the boring dialogue and mediocre acting to see?
There are only three positives I can give to this film. One is the sound effects team. The bone crunching and flesh ripping heard off screen was done pretty well and gets the point across. Second is the camera work. Unlike Blair Witch and others in the genre, there is no annoying shaky cam. This film is supposed to be involving a documentary crew and real operators know how to hold a damn camera steady. I appreciate the realism of that, and thanks for not giving me a headache. Third is the DVD packaging. I liked the 3D picture on the cardboard sleeve. The creature doesn’t look like the one on the cover, but it’s a decent effort to reel people into buying or renting, so kudos to the marketing team.
Reviewed by: JM Willis
Total Rating: C-
