Having just sat through my umpteenth 100 million dollar plus CGI extravaganza which shall remain anonymous although it is interchangeable with any number of big budget films made since the turn of the century), I find myself gravitating more and more to the low budget films of yore where special effects were subservient to character, story, and acting. No one was better at getting the most out of the least on a consistent basis than Roger Corman whose directing career spanned 35 years and 56 films. He produced close to 400 others including early efforts by Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, and James Cameron.
His last effort, 1990’s FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND, shows him still at the top of his game in providing topical, thought provoking material in a creative no-nonsense style that puts many bigger films to shame. Based on the book by British writer Brian Aldiss (the title is a play on the titles FRANKENSTEIN OR THE MODERN PROMETHEUS and PROMETHEUS UNBOUND), the movie incorporates the Frankenstein story, the Shelleys in Switzerland, and time travel in an engrossing and highly original way.
Mid 21st century scientist John Hurt is accidentally transported, by an experiment of his own devising, back to 1817 Geneva where the people and the events related in Mary Shelley’s novel are real and he becomes involved in their unfolding. His 21st century computerised car is with him and provides interesting commentary a la KNIGHT RIDER on their plight. The Monster is the most fearsome cinematic creation yet (based on the 1910 Edison version and looking forward to Robert De Niro’s creature in MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN) and Victor Frankenstein (Raul Julia) is a totally believable 19th century intellectual whose moral blindness results in the creation of a biological monstrosity.
You get the crux of Mary Shelley’s book, a look at the Shelleys and Lord Byron, a modicum of violence, and a time travel finale that should provide food for thought long afterwards. Shot on location in Italy with beautiful 19th century costumes as well as believable modern technology (the car is great), FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND combines solid storytelling with the kind of cerebral stimulation sorely missing today from most movies of this type.
The Capsule Critic 