Frankenstein: Day of the Beast Review


     I'm a sucker for low-budget horror movies, but I do have my limits of what I will subject myself too.  Being an amateur filmmaker, I use that term loosely, there are certain elements of a production that I can forgive.  Bad lighting, acting, and special effects are hallmarks of this special genre, but like the stripper that won't go away even when a five dollar bill is finally tossed it can grow tiresome.  Fortunately, I can honestly say that Frankenstein: Day of the Beast is a cut above that rest.

     Scrolling through Amazon Prime I decided to give this one a try.  The credit sequence alone gave away how much time and attention to detail that director Ricardo Islas has given to this production.  The cold snowy vista does give a sense of isolation and the looming dread of what is to come later in the film.  Mr. Islas isn't afraid to move his camera and after watching so many other films in this category it really is a nice welcome to watch craftsmanship than schlock that plagues so many other independent productions.

     The film loosely follows the Mary Shelley novel of Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Adam Stephenson) being stalked mercilessly by his creation The Monster (Tim Krueger) and the trail of blood that follows.  Frankenstein hires a group of mercenaries to protect him and his beautiful Elizabeth (the lovely Michelle Shields) as all efforts to stop the beast seem futile.  

     Frankenstein: Day of the Beast has strong productions values with the sets, camera work, and special makeup effects used.  I was surprised by how much gore and blood were used, but it doesn't become exploitative.  The movie goes the 10 Little Indians route by killing off characters one by one, but doesn't forget that there is also a story and character development to sustain a picture.  The use of flashbacks helps move the plot along to understand character motivation and the pacing of the movie makes it that much more watchable.  Some other aspects of the production I can't turn a cheek too.

     For a movie with such high ambitions I was disappointed with some of the sound design, mainly in the gun sound effects which sound generic at best.  When almost every other aspect of this film got so much detail why would sound be an after thought?  The music is above average, but nothing to write home about at the same time.  While the main actors give it their all some of the secondary characters must have been casted on the spot at the local Walmart.  Michelle Shields and Adam Stephenson are the stand outs of the movie however.

     Overall this flick is a pretty good watch.  I highly recommend it for horror lovers that are into a classic story with a steam punk look and vibe.  Richardo Islas really does have talent as a filmmaker and I hope that he continues to dabble more in the horror genre.  I just hope he has better sound design next time.

7 out of 10 stars

      

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