There is a reason why there are so many movies made about
the creature that was formed in the mind of Mary Shelly. That reason is called
public domain. No one owns the outright rights to the story she penned years
ago which means that anyone can take this familiar character and make a movie
or write a story about him as long as they don’t infringe on the copyrights of
others who have already done so (like the look of the Karloff monster from
years ago). The sad thing is that doesn’t always mean that a good movie is the
result.
The movie opens with the monster waking and is told from his
perspective via narration as his story unfolds. Reflecting back on his waking
he recalls the first person he saw as Marie (Carrie-Anne Moss) who he calls
mother. He then finds himself being subjected to various test by his “father”,
Victor (Danny Huston) and his assistant. A few days after his birth there are
signs of his body degenerating with several rotting boils showing on his skin.
The team decides to kill their creation and begin fresh.
But the drugs they use to kill the monster aren’t strong
enough to get the job done. Escaping from the facility he makes his way to a
nearby forest and finds refuge there. From this point forward many of the
ingredients used in previous films are inserted from the little girl being
tossed into the lake to the blind man who takes pity on the monster.
It takes a new turn when the monster in a rage kills a
police officer who was trying to arrest him and killed the monster’s only
friend, his dog. Once in custody the other officers are unsympathetic to his
plight or his apparent low level of intelligence, instead beating him nearly to
death. On the way to a new jail cell an officer gets off course, releases the
monster from the back of the transport and shoots him in the head, leaving him
for dead. But of course the monster can’t be killed and he seeks first
vengeance and then the family that abandoned him.
The quality of the production itself here is quite good with
a nice job of cinematography along with some decent performances. Where it
lacks first off is the script that seems to take far too long to have things
happen. That may have worked in the original film but with the majority of the
world already familiar with the tale it just makes this story meander at times.
It’s difficult to explain but the movie for the most part just seems to exist
for no other reason than to exist, offering nothing new to the story with the
exception of location and how the monster is created. The pacing is such that
the movie actually takes a compelling story and makes it more boring than you
could imagine.
Realizing the hard work that goes into the actual production
of a movie I’m usually not one to slam a film that comes out. In truth there
are moments in this one that are worth watching but for the most part those are
few and far between and can be counted on the fingers of one hand. If horror
films are what you enjoy then you may want to watch this one just to say you
have done so. The odds of it being one that you’ll want to add to your
collection are fairly slim. The effort to make a good movie is there but the
end result doesn’t reach those intentions.
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