Once again things are slow on my blog. I was hoping to have a lot more posts done at this point, but I haven't managed that very well. Hopefully, I will be able to pick things up next week, as I have some time off from work. Part of things being slow is that my sleep is way off. It doesn't take much for me to go to sleep while watching a movie or TV, and then I'm not so tired once I should be in bed sleeping. I did get The Similars watched and reviewed at least, so check out that review sometime. For here, I decided to watch another movie that my friend Terry sent to me a good while back. This is another movie from the Buffalo area, which is where he is from, called Frankenstein's Patchwork Monster (2015).
Viktor Frankenstein (Bill Kennedy) is looking to create life from dead tissue. He has been getting corpses from a couple of grave robbers in order to perform his experiments. With the help of his assistants, Herman (Patrick Mallette) and Proteus from the Erie Lagoon (Sean Sanders), Viktor has some of his experiments come close to success. Viktor feels he is getting close though, and unlocking the secret to his own immortality. There are problems between the three, however. Proteus doesn't seem to like Herman very well, and Herman strikes up a relationship with Clarice (Melantha Blackthorne) which causes Viktor to be jealous. Will this cause things to go wrong or will Viktor be able to find what he is wishing for?
Frankenstein's Patchwork Monster was written and directed by Emil Novak. As I already mentioned, this is a film from the Buffalo area. It uses local actors, sets, and locations from that area only. I admit that I was a bit worried at first about this film. In the first ten or so minutes, the story starts in the year 1812, jumps to 1997 and eventually goes to 1816, where we see the event that leads to the novel of Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. All the while the opening credits roll by. The film jumps back and forth for a bit before the story settles into the year 1812 and mostly stays there from there. It still jumps to 1997, but just for short periods. This is really when the story becomes interesting and kept me into it. Novak runs the gambit with Frankenstein stories and films. There are a couple of different monsters that Viktor is able to make, though mostly short-lived. It was interesting that Novak even dips into Bride Of Frankenstein a little bit. But that is what makes this movie interesting. Novak manages to change things up just enough to make his film different from other films while still paying homage to the source material. Another interesting thing about the plot is that it explores what happened as a true story in a way. We get scenes with Mary Shelly, Tara Rosado, where it is hinted at that her story was inspired by real events. This causes the story to explore, though not in great detail, Viktor finding out that others are making money from his story. Of course, he can't say anything, especially in the year 1997, and who would believe him anyway? I wish that Novak would have explored this plot line a bit more as it would have set his story apart from others even more. I'm not sure how he could have explored it more, but then again, I'm not much of a writer. Frankenstein's Patchwork Monster managed not to be a great low budget film for me despite enjoying it. As I mentioned, it jumps around way too much to start things with. We don't even know what is going on yet and it is already jumping around three different years. Also, the sound isn't always the best. At times it is hard to hear what is being said depending on the location. It is often a problem I have with this type of film, so while it doesn't come as a great surprise, I still wanted to point this out.
The effects were surprisingly good. There isn't anything super gory or anything, but what we do get was done very well. My favorite was probably when skin gets pulled away after getting stuck to something. The makeup for the various monsters was also well done and, in some cases, very different than what has come in the past. The acting was something I had issues with at times. It wasn't really that I thought that the acting was bad from anyone, just that I didn't always care for the way certain characters were being acted out. It just came down to personal preference really. Bill Kennedy was the stand out here. I did feel he took the role a bit to serious at times, I still enjoyed his acting over all the others. I do have to say that Daniel James also gave a good performance with a much smaller role.
Another theme that the story explores some is how far would you go to complete your dreams? Viktor does a lot of shady things in order to get what he wants. This comes back to haunt him some when one of his creations turns against him for those very things. As you can see, Frankenstein's Patchwork Monster covers a lot of ground with its story. This didn't bother me so much, but there are some fairly long scenes where a lot of talking takes place in order to advance the story. It didn't make the story boring because of that, but I admit that the story could have used a bit more action at times. If you are looking for something a little different for the age-old tale of Frankenstein and his monster, then you really should check out this film someday. It isn't a perfect film, but it was still fun and different enough to stand out. Well worth checking out someday if you haven't already.
3 out of 5 Just how many monsters does one need?
Viktor Frankenstein (Bill Kennedy) is looking to create life from dead tissue. He has been getting corpses from a couple of grave robbers in order to perform his experiments. With the help of his assistants, Herman (Patrick Mallette) and Proteus from the Erie Lagoon (Sean Sanders), Viktor has some of his experiments come close to success. Viktor feels he is getting close though, and unlocking the secret to his own immortality. There are problems between the three, however. Proteus doesn't seem to like Herman very well, and Herman strikes up a relationship with Clarice (Melantha Blackthorne) which causes Viktor to be jealous. Will this cause things to go wrong or will Viktor be able to find what he is wishing for?
Frankenstein's Patchwork Monster was written and directed by Emil Novak. As I already mentioned, this is a film from the Buffalo area. It uses local actors, sets, and locations from that area only. I admit that I was a bit worried at first about this film. In the first ten or so minutes, the story starts in the year 1812, jumps to 1997 and eventually goes to 1816, where we see the event that leads to the novel of Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. All the while the opening credits roll by. The film jumps back and forth for a bit before the story settles into the year 1812 and mostly stays there from there. It still jumps to 1997, but just for short periods. This is really when the story becomes interesting and kept me into it. Novak runs the gambit with Frankenstein stories and films. There are a couple of different monsters that Viktor is able to make, though mostly short-lived. It was interesting that Novak even dips into Bride Of Frankenstein a little bit. But that is what makes this movie interesting. Novak manages to change things up just enough to make his film different from other films while still paying homage to the source material. Another interesting thing about the plot is that it explores what happened as a true story in a way. We get scenes with Mary Shelly, Tara Rosado, where it is hinted at that her story was inspired by real events. This causes the story to explore, though not in great detail, Viktor finding out that others are making money from his story. Of course, he can't say anything, especially in the year 1997, and who would believe him anyway? I wish that Novak would have explored this plot line a bit more as it would have set his story apart from others even more. I'm not sure how he could have explored it more, but then again, I'm not much of a writer. Frankenstein's Patchwork Monster managed not to be a great low budget film for me despite enjoying it. As I mentioned, it jumps around way too much to start things with. We don't even know what is going on yet and it is already jumping around three different years. Also, the sound isn't always the best. At times it is hard to hear what is being said depending on the location. It is often a problem I have with this type of film, so while it doesn't come as a great surprise, I still wanted to point this out.
The effects were surprisingly good. There isn't anything super gory or anything, but what we do get was done very well. My favorite was probably when skin gets pulled away after getting stuck to something. The makeup for the various monsters was also well done and, in some cases, very different than what has come in the past. The acting was something I had issues with at times. It wasn't really that I thought that the acting was bad from anyone, just that I didn't always care for the way certain characters were being acted out. It just came down to personal preference really. Bill Kennedy was the stand out here. I did feel he took the role a bit to serious at times, I still enjoyed his acting over all the others. I do have to say that Daniel James also gave a good performance with a much smaller role.
Another theme that the story explores some is how far would you go to complete your dreams? Viktor does a lot of shady things in order to get what he wants. This comes back to haunt him some when one of his creations turns against him for those very things. As you can see, Frankenstein's Patchwork Monster covers a lot of ground with its story. This didn't bother me so much, but there are some fairly long scenes where a lot of talking takes place in order to advance the story. It didn't make the story boring because of that, but I admit that the story could have used a bit more action at times. If you are looking for something a little different for the age-old tale of Frankenstein and his monster, then you really should check out this film someday. It isn't a perfect film, but it was still fun and different enough to stand out. Well worth checking out someday if you haven't already.
3 out of 5 Just how many monsters does one need?
