Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound (1990) Reviews

• One of my favorites !

  JoeKuul32004-08-10

  I really like this movie and can't understand why some people seem to enjoy trashing it and picking apart every little detail. Haven't they seen any of Corman's old films? Were they expecting some kind of masterpiece this time around? That said, I thought that the "double opposable thumb" idea was excellent - seems like a plausible next evolutionary step. The talking car was AWESOME! It's MUCH better than K.I.T.T. from Knightrider. I especially like the part when he goes into the past and the car is checking for satellites and radio stations, and all the cool graphics come up as the car reports that it can't find any types of links to modern society. It really made me think, "Woah! How would a person from the year 2004 deal with that situation?" Cell phone doesn't work, no payphones around, no phones of ANY kind, no Television or radio, none of the modern conveniences that we take for granted these days... I love SciFi, futuristicky kinda stuff. So the ending (although somewhat confusing) was also enjoyable to me. If you like time-travel type Sci-Fi movies, I would definitely recommend this movie to you.

• Roger Cormans Masterpiece (In My Opinion)

  CMRKeyboadist2007-01-10

  Frankenstein Unbound is one of those movies that is almost impossible to categorize. Part horror, part science fiction, part fantasy, and part comedy. And what is even more interesting is the cast of all stars. Roger Corman is able to put all of these together to form a truly mesmerizing film that you will never forget. It is in the future. John Hurt plays Dr. Joe Buchanan, a slightly mad scientist who has developed a weapon for the government that harness's the power of a black hole. In the process, he has inadvertently created a worm hole that might destroy the world. On his way home from work, Buchanan is sucked into the hole and sent back in time to Europe 1812. It is here he meets Victor Frankenstein (played wonderfully by Raul Julia) and discovers that the story of Frankenstein's Monster is in fact a true story. I believe what makes this movie so much fun is that as serious as the story appears to take itself it is actually rather humorous. Most of the scenes with the Monster in them are actually laugh out loud funny. There are a few scenes with the monster that just need to be seen to be fully understood as most of the movie is quite a bleak comedy. The ending to the movie is truly one of the bleakest endings I have ever seen. For a Roger Corman film this is really well done. John Hurt and Raul Julia really compliment each other in this movie. It is too bad that Bridget Fonda and Jason Patric didn't have bigger roles in the movie as their characters are fascinating as well. Well, I certainly enjoyed this film. I have watched it countless times throughout the years and I still have not grown tired of it. For me, truly a timeless film that I will watch many more times. 9/10

• Not bad, actually decent enough, considering the theme

  TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews2004-07-17

  I have to admit, I enjoyed this film, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. This is only the second Roger Corman film I've seen so far, and therefore I can only really compare it to the other film I saw by him, The Terror. I can clearly recognize the directing style, and basic film-making style, but I must say that this is better than The Terror. The plot is pretty good, and fairly interesting, and more original than most other films dealing with Frankenstein. It has a decent enough pace; I wasn't bored for the 90 minutes it lasted. The script is fairly good too, a good twist on the original Frankenstein story, though I guess some fans of the original story wouldn't like the various changes. The acting is good enough, both John Hurt and Raul Julia gives pretty good performances, and the rest of the cast is decent. The characters are fairly well-written and credible. The film has a fairly bad name, it seems; yes, the monster does look more like the result of genetic mutation or something similar, rather than a creature built together by human bodies, and, arguably, the film has several violent scenes that seem to be there mainly to add violence rather than substance to the film, but apart from that, the film is pretty good, at least worth a watch, if only one watch. The effects are decent enough, at least for a film from 1990. The makeup effects and such were also pretty good, I must say that the monster's face, especially the eyes, did send a chill through my spine, the first time he was shown. I liked the various science fiction aspects of the film, and the social commentary was very good, too. The ending was a little weird, but it was a fairly good climax. All in all, a decent enough science fiction/horror drama, and worth one watch, if you can catch it for free. I recommend it to fans of Roger Corman and open-minded fans of Frankenstein and/or horror films in general; just be prepared that it won't be an incredible or very memorable film, just an entertaining 90 minutes, if you're into violent movies without any real purpose. 6/10

• Not bad

  sgt619-12002-11-24

  I first saw this little known early ninties title on HBO not long after its release. I must say I found it to be quite memorable, with excellent performances by John Hurt and Raul Julia as well as Bridget Fonda. I love the 1800 settings in Geneva (actually filmed in Italy) and the way Hurt slipped back in time and found where he was. (according to his car "we are alone") so cool. The monster was real creepy and he actually talks. All in all, a very good movie I highly recommend. As of this writing, its not out on DVD that I am aware of but if it does come out, it will definately be worthy of my collection.

• One of my favorites

  pcselect2006-06-15

  NO SPOILERS If you like a good late night, popcorn munching lights-out, old fashioned horror movie, then this is your ticket. But wait; there's a bonus. It has a great sci-fi twist. I've shown this to friends and recommended it to people, and they are never disappointed. Spend a couple of bucks and take a chance. It's rare that a movie puts a fresh twist on an old story and does it so well. Great scenic mood and acting; although the final scene seems low budget; it's going for stark, and overdoes it a bit. I pick up this movie about once every 5-6 years and look forward to it every time. The monster is unique to the Frankentein genre, but it also seems much more accurate to what a madman's medical science would produce. There's no over the top screaming or "It's aliiiive" scenes. No, it is smart, and realistic.