Frankenstein Unlimited (2009)
Review by Michael Varrati
The main issue when assessing an anthology, whether it be a film, written, or otherwise, is that inevitably there will be one or two pieces that are going to stand above all else collected, and if the rest of the pieces aren’t quite up to snuff, it just makes them worse. This leads to a generally uneven affair and often general indifference in your audience. After all, they can’t say they hated it, because there are parts they truly enjoyed, and yet, they can’t say they loved it either, because there are parts that just didn’t “pop” as much as the ones that excited them.
Such is the case with the Canadian film Frankenstein Unlimited, an ambitious project organized by filmmaker Matthew Saliba (She Was Asking For It, Vampyros Lesbos) which called upon six Montreal based filmmakers to each contribute a short film rooted in the Frankenstein myth. The shorts were then compiled together into this anthology to exemplify the broad range of motifs and concepts Mary Shelley’s original monster novel was able to strike within audiences since its publication. To be sure, in a pop culture market that has taken the vampire to every possible realm of exploration humanly possible, it is a breath of fresh air to see some overly due attention paid to another of the classic monsters. Furthermore, Saliba’s goal for the compilation is an admirable one…the original novel is as much human allegory as it is a straight up monster tale, so the realms of exploration are endless. If you’re a classic monster fan, even when this film falls flat, you want to like it because you know what is being achieved is something that hasn’t really been done with the Frankenstein myth thus far, and for that you have to give at least a little credit where credit is due.
However, wanting to like something and actually liking something are often two very different beasts.
Before we get into what worked and what didn’t, let’s do a quick breakdown of each story, as they appear in the film.
“Dark Lotus”- Directed by Saliba himself, this story is told via stop-motion photographs and unfolds for the audience the story of a doctor who is harvesting fetuses from a woman and planting them in the soil, similar to planting a seed to watch a plant grow. However, before he can plant more than one, the villagers come and put a kibosh on his horticultural plans. But, there’s still one plant in the garden…and what grows is something truly frightening.
“Victor”- Directed by Matthew Forbes, this story is something of a tender afterward to the novel, showing an old man (meant to be the eponymous Victor Frankenstein) struggling with loneliness and his ostracized status in the community.
“Flesh for Kung Fu”- With a name cleverly riffed from the Andy Warhol/Paul Morrissey underground classic Flesh for Frankenstein, this segment, as directed by King-Wei Chu and starring Gordon Liu (Kill Bill) is Frankenstein as a kung-fu epic. All the greatest masters of martial arts have fallen to a sinister enemy, who is taking the best of their bodies to improve himself…can one man and the human spirit stand against the scientific construct of a master warrior? Watch and see!
“Reflection”- Directed by Maude Michaud (Complex Model), this story tells the tale of a disfigured girl who finds her place amongst the beautiful working at a dance club. Yet, when she finally raises the money to allow science to correct her physical beauty, she learns that looks aren’t always what make someone a monster.
“Occam’s Razor”- Directed by Peter James, this story is told as a gritty police procedural in the vein of James Ellroy style crime noir. A murderous couple are questioned by the police over their involvement in a series of deaths…are their motives simply those of insane minds? Or is there something more sinister at play?
“Mr. Fluffenstein”- Directed by Martin Gauthier, this story thematically shares a lot with Tim Burton’s classic short Frankenweenie, in that it tells the tale of a little girl who won’t let the family’s cat stay dead, so she resorts to arcane science to zap it back to life. That said, this story goes into a little more gruesome territory than Frankweenie ever did, and who can say they are surprised? Everyone knows that cats are bitchier than dogs.
Now that we’ve buzzed through the run down, let’s get to the brass tacks.
The main issue here is that, conceptually, every segment is a good idea. The reality is that not all of them are executed quite as well. Far and away, the two best segments in this collection are “Occam’s Razor” and Saliba’s own “Dark Lotus”.
“Dark Lotus” is particularly a fine example of an auteur at the beginning of his career. Stylistically, this segment is extremely impressive to watch, the stop-motion photography is seemingly a perfect blend of David Lynch and Guy Maddin’s obsession with classic styling and surrealism, and yet it remains wholly unique. This portion alone ensures that Frankenstein Unlimited is not to be entirely dismissed, and served as a strong kick-start to the film.
Similarly, “Occam’s Razor” succeeds because it knows what it is doing within the confines of the world it creates. There might be shadows of Frankenstein and his monster lurking at its edges, but the heart of this piece is all crime fiction. The police are intense, the criminals are wily, and the heat in the interrogation room is palatable. Every single one of the actors in this piece are spot-on, so much so, I’d feel guilty singling one or two out, because without all of them bringing their A-game, this story might have dragged in the dust. But luckily for the viewer, it didn’t, and instead we are treated to one sweat-inducing inquiry into the minds of two very unique psychopaths.
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for the two mentioned cannot be extended to “Flesh for Kung Fu”, which admittedly, I had the highest hopes for out of all comers when I was doing my pre-movie research. Gordon Liu, to his credit, is amazing as the Kung Fu master (and he should be, because he is a Kung Fu master), but the story’s presentation seems a little sparse for the build up this segment is given. Logic states that if you promise a Kung Fu epic, you better deliver one…and two men battling does not an epic make. Instead, this film becomes an exercise in Eastern philosophy that seems strangely forced and out of place in the anthology’s overall motif. Now, I take no issue with Eastern philosophy on film. In fact, Alejandro Jodoworsky (El Topo, Holy Mountain), one of my all time faves, was constantly using Eastern imagery and ideals in his cinema, but he also knew that with certain ideas you still have to deliver the goods to gel the concepts together for an audience. I just don’t feel “Flesh for Kung Fu” gelled.
I also was not particularly fond of “Reflection”, although the concept was genius, like “Flesh for Kung Fu,” its execution seemed to lack a little. The film’s alternating between the lead character’s physical transformation and her surrealistic understanding of what was happening to her seemed slightly forced. Now, surrealism is never a bad thing as far as I’m concerned, but it should never be allowed to get out of control. True, the aforementioned David Lynch or such contemporaries of his like Kenneth Anger may seem to allow their imagery to run rampant, but the real truth is that they are always in control of the message behind the madness. Sometimes to run free, one has to focus.
The other films contained therein are good filler, and have their moments of success and failure, just as anything else. “Victor” is strangely touching and “Mr. Fluffenstein” is so ridiculous, one cannot help but consider it a welcome distraction. However, one cannot feel that they both are lost in the fray of some of the grander pieces contained in the anthology, which is something of a shame, as any story should be given its moment to shine.
Ultimately, if you’re a fan of the Frankenstein story, you’re going to want to check this collection out, as there is plenty here for you to glean and grin over. That said, if you’re only a casual fan, or just a general horror aficionado who is passing by, I can only recommend this film with the caveat that not everything here is likely to please you. As with any anthology that spans different visions, and in some cases different genres, there are stories and situations that will appeal to some more so than others, leaving the viewer with a generally uneven feeling. But, uneven though it may be, the creative team of Frankenstein Unlimited is still to be applauded for going out on a limb and daring to do something fresh in a horror movie market that is a lot of the same old stuff. While I didn’t particularly love everything about this movie, I respect what they were going for, and give applause to Saliba and team for jolting new life into the bolts of Frankenstein’s monster.
So, if you’re interested, check it out. Maybe you’ll find the story for you!
Watch the trailer:
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