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This kitschy blaxploitation film was originally intended as a serious movie, which (ultimately) earns it some points in the camp department. However, the movie's slow starting pacing pace, wooden acting, and (periodically) decent production value make for a largely uneventful ride. Using sets from the original 1931 "Frankenstein," as well as similar art direction, "Blackenstein" was a movie that tried hard to be legitimate, and the first half of the film rises above typical exploitation schlock. However, once the Blackenstein monster is created, the film begins to fall apart, and what follows is a terrible, "Blood Freak"-style horror movie, with laughably amateurish scene direction and gore effects. The result is a very uneven film, and a difficult one to recommend without reservations. The highlight is the awful acting, (particularly of Blackenstein himself), which makes for decent joke material, but I can't say we consistently laughed our way through this one. Fans of H.G. Lewis and Ray Dennis Steckler should be pleased, as the film has a somewhat similar feel, but most others can give it a pass. ---|--- Reviews by Flak Magnet

Nothing's sacred in the world of exploitation cinema, not even Mary Shelley's legendary novel or the classic Universal make-up effects on Boris Karloff. And thank the heavens for that, otherwise we never would have seen this wondrously demented Blaxploitation interpretation of Frankenstein. "Blackenstein" is a delightfully inept movie, some would even categorize it under so-bad-it's-great, and the script goes far beyond simply copying the original Shelley tale. There are even flashes of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" to be found here and there's another mini sub-plot about a rejuvenation serum. The actual Frankenstein plot is moderately altered as well, since the mad doctors (yes, two in this case, black & white brotherly messing with Mother Nature and God's creation together!) don't intend to re-insert life into dead body parts, but supply a wounded Vietnam veteran with new arms and legs. The procedure doesn't go as planned, due to the sabotaging of a jealous assistant, and a monstrous creation arises from the operating table. The genetically altered Brutha goes on a murder rampage but his endearing wife still doesn't give up on him. "Blackenstein" is original and funny because of its ineptness, but after a while it nearly becomes unendurable to sit through. The pace slows down fast and the story reverts to boredom, the dialogs are horrible, the make-up effects are miserable and the acting performances are lamentable. Especially Roosevelt Jackson, as Malcomb the assistant, is the hammiest performer I've seen in a long time. The DVD states that the operating sequences were shot with the same and carefully persevered scenery and sets of the original Frankenstein film. That's quite difficult to believe but, as said, everything's possible in the 70's exploitation industry. "Blackenstein" is definitely not a good film, but nevertheless recommended to people with a morbid & insatiable curiosity for weird film-making.

Eddie is a Vietnam veteran who loses his arms and legs when he steps on a land mine, but a brilliant surgeon is able to attach new limbs. Unfortunately an insanely jealous assistant (who has fallen in love with Eddie's fiancé) switches Eddie's DNA injections, transforming him into a gigantic killer.

The most interesting thing about this film is that Bud Costello is credited as the property master. Apparently at some point he came into possession of the original "Frankenstein" props. Who has them now is an even more interesting question...

Beyond that, it is just cheesy fun. This is not a great movie with great acting or plot. The scientist -- despite winning a Nobel prize -- says things that make no sense to people with a basic understanding of science...

BLACKENSTEIN is a terrible movie and its title wouldn't suggest otherwise. Like ABBY (sort of like a Black version of THE EXORCIST), BLACKENSTEIN has practically no budget whatsoever and the acting is just terrible. Believe it or not, the two Blacula movies aren't that bad--BLACKENSTEIN, however, is abysmally bad--so bad that bad movie fans might (but probably won't) love it. Others with taste, however, won't!

One of the first things you'll notice on the DVD is that the print is really, really bad--though it does get a bit better later. This is because there just isn't much money to be made from this film and adding closed captions or digitally restoring the picture just isn't going to happen! You also will probably notice how odd Los Angeles is in the film. Most nights, there seems to be thunder and lightning and often there is an eerie fog about as well (perhaps this is just smog). Regardless, it's pretty funky weather for sunny Southern California! As for the plot, it's really not like the traditional Frankenstein story. There is no mad scientist and no dead people are reanimated. Instead, a sane researcher and his assistant work to attach dead limbs to living people who lost theirs in accidents. However, instead of working in a hospital, they work in the doctor's home which is more like a castle (in Los Angeles, okay?). Heck, the place even has a dungeon and Frankenstein-like laboratory! The assistant is a young Black lady whose boyfriend lost his limbs in an explosion in Vietnam. While the transplant looks promising, no one realizes that the doctor's evil butler switches the genetic formulas and the poor Black man starts to mutate and become evil. He, of course, goes on some obligatory rampages and since this is a so-called "Blaxploitation" film, you see two ladies' breasts--though it really made no sense at all and was very, very contrived. It's amazing to see how this made no sense at all, but given that NONE of the film makes sense, it's understandable.

So what is to like about the film......well,....nothing really except for the small sequence involving the comedian. One of the jokes, though a bit crude, is funny and he was pretty cute. The acting is purely amateur, the script is amazingly static and dull (something you'd never expect in a horror film--even a bad one) and the sets are cheap and make no sense. It's really too dull for bad movie fans to enjoy and I found myself falling asleep from time to time--it was that unexciting. By contrast, even the very worst Hammer horror film was light years better.

I thought fellow-blaxploitation horror flick "Blacula" (1972) had slipshod production values and was campy, but, wow, it's "Citizen Kane" compared to "Blackenstein." I understand the other IMDb reviews and voters who voted this movie 1/10, a rating I usually reserve for motion pictures that lack even the most basic of technical competence, for which in many ways this one is wanting. But, I found its wretchedness to be amusing.

The story is thin, the plotting repetitive (the monster interrupts three near rapes, Malcolm exchanges way too many creepy glances, and there are far too many lingering exterior shots of Dr. Stein's residence), the science-y stuff is ludicrous. the monster is pathetically slow and his victims hilariously too stupid to just keep running away, or merely walking away at a comfortable pace, and the editing is some of the worst I've ever seen. I wonder if the film was cut for censorship or something during its violent scenes, because the version I saw was extremely choppy. But, the editing is bad all over the place. The cuts to close-ups of Malcolm and Dr. Walker, for instance, which are also poorly directed and acted--I didn't even know what the movie was trying to convey, at first, until Malcolm declared his love for her.

Like "Blacula" and its sequel "Scream Blacula Scream" (1973), "Blackenstein" has at least one nightclub interlude, where we're treated to a stand-up act and some singing. The dog joke, though, as with much of the movie, is bad, although it's not nearly as atrocious as the use of dogs in the film's conclusion. The actor playing Eddie turned the monster has his arms and legs covered by blankets in too obvious of a way during the scenes where he supposedly has no arms and legs. Choppy editing and dark lighting help hide the later makeup job, where he's made to look like a cross between Universal's Frankenstein monsters and a giant Neanderthal. Additionally, "Blackenstein" doesn't deal with anything like the racial issues that elevated the Blacula films beyond mere camp. The semi-mad doctor Stein is white, but there's also a female black doctor assistant. One detective is black, the other white. Race is never really mentioned. And you can forget about there being any intelligent reworking of Mary Shelley's novel.

But, Dr. Stein's lab is fabulous. I have nothing bad to say about it; it's all I could hope for from a low-budget, bad 1970s exploitation monster movie trying to rip-off the 1931 "Frankenstein," complete with pseudoscientific gizmos, beakers that are always burning with bubbling liquids, shadows cast on the walls, flickering lights, spinning things and other nonsense. The film's lingering and repetitive shots and scenes also are put to good use in showing off the space.

The moving has serious pacing problems, so it's pretty tough to watch. The best part of the movie is the laboratory set, which must have been where most of the budget went. There are three moments of gore involving intestines and they are not too impressive. A few strange shots might catch the eye, but they are probably ripped off from some other movie. At least Blackenstein is not a pimp or anything, though that's probably what viewers want from their campy movies. My tape is from Media. Well, I used a coupon when I bought it.

After the huge success of "Blacula", Sam Arkoff made plans for a similar knock-off called "Blackenstein". In the meanwhile, write-producer Frank Salteri decides to beat him to the proverbial punch by taking the Black Frankenstein concept, dashing out something resembling a script, gathering together a considerably less than stellar cast (including ex-mob moll Liz Renay and a couple of 40's has-beens who appear to have needed some extra bucks to pay the phone bill that month), and spending what appears to be about $30, slaps out one of the worst pieces of cinematic drek to have ever played inside the confines of a movie theater. If the wooden acting and laughably inept gore effects don't get you, how about the inappropriate musical and stand-up comedy routines (such as they are), or the long-shot camera work during crucial scenes, or how the title character shuffles about with his arms outstretched, just like every parody of Frankenstein you've ever seen.

For years, Sam Arkoff has taken the blame for this cinematic blunder. Sam: A lot of people owe you a hell of a big apology!!!!

A rather abysmal, plodding Blaxplotation reworking of the Frankenstein myth - sort of - best describes this 70s offering. Probably trying to latch on to the success of Blacula(a rather good film), Blackenstein tells the story of a limbless Vietnam vet named Eddie returning only to be the guinea pig of a Nobel Peace prize winning doctor. Strange that he won the Peace prize for his work with DNA, but let's push logic aside for now. The director of this film sure did. It seems that Eddie's girl, winsome Winifred Walker, a doctor with a PH.D in physics once worked under the renowned Dr. Stein. She appeals for help with her man, but things go awry when manservant Malcomb tries to thwart the romance because he is in desperate love with Winnie. The result - a hulking limbful(OK, I don't think its a word either)"creature" wearing a black suit he inexplicably picked up somewhere in just his size and styling around with a square-cut afro emerges with a zest for killing and ripping entrails from the bodices of newly slain women. Although on the surface this might seem like grand entertainment, the director and cast do an amazing job of breathing as little life into this film as possible. The site of the good doctor's work is seemingly in a country estate, but later we hear from two policeman, not unlike members of the mob, that murders have been happening in the nearby vicinity. Nearby vicinity - a hospital, residential homes, and an ethnic night club are all in the vicinity as well as a power plant(?). Scenes are very hard to see as there is virtually no lighting of any real value. The music score is dreadful. Clanging and suspenseful chords can be heard when nothing happens. And just wait until you hear that ridiculous heartbeat! The actors are dreadful. None of them are very good. The guy playing Dr. Stein looks casually interested in his role. Roosevelt Jackson is interesting as Malcomb, but he is definitely no actor. The special effects consist of the old lab equipment of Kenneth Strickfaden that was used in the 30's Frankenstein films. It looks very out of place in a modern setting. The worst part of this film though is its relentless plodding from one uninteresting scene to another. Nothing really is ever explained, the victims and their slayings are awfully executed, and the ending - what was that all about? It definitely had gone to the dogs at that point! If you are looking for something akin to fun "trash" from that decade famous for just that, I think you will be greatly disappointed with Blackenstein.

A few of the 70s drive-in movies I've seen were a lot of fun. This one is not. I appreciate Xenon in bringing back the "blaxplo" heydays through their video releases, but man, why not leave that scratchy looking print on the shelf and make it stay forgotten? BLACKENSTEIN is downright awful in its dreadful glory. Not a whole lot can be said about the horror elements other than the removal of body parts. How about shoving down people to make them die? A lot of your fun goes to scenes of mad scientists playing with liquid formulas and having to sit through useless scrap footage. The way our stiff-looking creep in an afro walks around and spreads his arms defines the most horrendous acting performance I've ever seen. It's that bad! Naturally speaking, don't confuse this one with the much superior BLACULA. The two are not the same. Dreadful!

In 1972, some genius had the idea of a blaxploitation vampire film, Bram Stoker's legendary vampire Dracula becoming Blacula. It's clever because it rhymes.

The following year, writer/producer Frank R. Saletri tried to get in on the action with a blaxploitation version of Frankenstein called Blackenstein, which isn't such a great title. It's also not a very good film.

Blackenstein sees Dr. Winifred Walker (Ivory Stone) paying a visit to her old teacher Dr. Stein (John Hart) in the hope that he will help her fiancé Eddie (Joe De Sue), a Vietnam veteran who has lost all of his limbs in a landmine blast. Using a special DNA serum, Stein transplants new limbs onto Eddie, but his assistant Malcomb (Roosevelt Jackson), who is in love with Winifred, meddles with the treatment, turning Eddie into a violent lumbering monster.

The problem with Blackenstein is that it's not obvious whether director William A. Levey was going for genuine horror or pure camp. If he was aiming for a truly terrifying experience, he fails spectacularly, starting with Stein's hilariously clichéd mad scientist's lab, which is full of flashing lights, bubbling beakers, and crackling electrical equipment that could have come straight out of James Whale's Frankenstein forty years earlier (in fact, the special electronic effects were created by Ken Strickfaden, who also worked on Whale's movie). If he was going for tongue-in-cheek, OTT fun, he doesn't go far enough: much of his film is uneventful and extremely tedious, so much so that the director resorts to throwing in a nightclub act to try and add some pep to proceedings.

With terrible performances, inept gore (limb ripping, spilled guts, a torn out throat), and gratuitous female nudity (four bare breasts, and past-her-prime mobster's girlfriend Liz Renay in a sheer negligee), Blackenstein sounds like fun, but it takes a special kind of horror fan to sit through a film like this without wanting to throw in the towel at some point.

WOW! Watching Blackenstein the Black Frankenstein (what a title!) is a one of a kind experience. It's a unique spectacle that must be seen to be fully appreciated. I can truly say that I've never seen a film quite like it. Is it as bad as everybody says it is? Oh yeah! Absolutely! It's horribly edited and extremely incoherent. It's INSANE and that's the beauty of it! The abundant and endless flaws are all a part of this flick's crazy charm. I loved it! Watch this one with your Z Grade movie loving friends and plenty of cold beverages. It's perfect for that kind of viewing. Invite your friends, serve some drinks, laugh your butt off, and enjoy!

Following on the heels of blacula and Dr black and Mr Hyde,blackenstein is a pretty good little b movie made by American international pictures,although not shown in the credits.blackenstein is laughable at some point,but good.i actually enjoyed it more than blacula.John Hart who played the lone ranger back in the day,is Dr stein a kindly Dr who has mad lab equipment in his basement.a former pupil of Dr stein comes to visit,played by lovely;Ivory Stone whose fiancé is a Vietnam vet who had his arms and legs blown off in combat.OK i guess you will see how this is going.for a 1974 movie its pretty gory.and yes the lab props were from the universal Frankenstein films borrowed from the late Ken Skrickfadden.blackenstein is a fun horror film for fans of the genre.cant figure out why a.i.p. is not in any credits,they may have disowned the film in the later years.if you never seen blackenstein then heres your chance.gruesome exploitation from the seventies.

In his secret laboratory in his awesome mansion, Dr. Stein (John Hart) has been working on a new formula that rejuvenates tissue and reverses the aging process. Stein is approached by Dr. Winifred Walker (Ivory Stone) for help with her boyfriend, Eddie Turner (Joe De Sue), a Vietnam vet who has returned home minus several appendages.

Soon, mad science kicks into high gear, with machines beeping and buzzing while lightning flashes outside.

BZZZT! ZZZAPPP!

Pumped full of chemicals, Eddie undergoes Stein's "treatment". In no time, Eddie's a new man.

Uh oh!

Stein's monotone assistant, Malcolm (Roosevelt Jackson) is jealous of Eddie and Winifred. Not surprisingly, he messes with Eddie's "treatment", causing unforeseen consequences! Eddie mutates into BLACKENSTEIN! Shambling forth in all new threads, and a head like a fireplug, the monster-formerly-known-as-Eddie sets off on a bloody rampage of limb-tearing / gut-unraveling death! From this point on, no one is safe, and no woman's clothing remains intact, as unnecessary female nudity erupts!

Ludicrous in every way, this "blaxploitation" movie is hyper-schlock in its purest form. Honestly, the only thing of any true quality is the blues music on the soundtrack! Everything else is cinematic malpractice!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: #1- The monster's groovy, two-tone patent leather boots! #2- His incessant grunting! #3- The two police detectives on the case, who look more like a pawn shop owner and a game show host! #4- The "Blackenstein Meets The Doberman Gang" denouement!

Do not miss this must-see marvel of mutton-headed moviemaking!...

Now I'll admit, as a younger horror fan, these were the movies I would have avoided. There was a stretch where I was a bit more pretentious and this movie would be one I'd put my nose up to. Once I saw Blacula and realized that these movies actually have some substance, despite many of them being a bit more whimsical. I would say the Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror really helped as well. This was one I saw due to October movie challenges I'm doing as well. The synopsis here is Eddie (Joe De Sue) is a Vietnam veteran who loses his arms and legs when he steps on a land mine. A brilliant surgeon is able to attach new limbs, but his jealous assistant switches the DNA injects, transforming him into a gigantic killer.

We start this movie off inside of a lab. It doesn't tell us at first, but the man working in it is Dr. Stein (John Hart). The movie then takes us to the airport where Dr. Winifred Walker (Ivory Stone) has arrived in town. She goes to see Dr. Stein and we learn that she is a former student. Dr. Stein is world renowned as he won a Nobel Prize in science due to cracking the DNA genetics code and is doing ground breaking research. Winifred wants to work under him and he agrees. She is joining his other assistant, Malcomb (Roosevelt Jackson).

They go on rounds to see the different patients in Dr. Stein's care. There is Eleanor (Andrea King) who is 90 and the DNA injections she is getting have rejuvenated her skin so she looks 40. She needs one every 12 hours though as he hasn't fond an agent yet to make it stick. The other patient is Bruno Stragor (Nick Bolin). He lost his leg and Dr. Stein attached a new one. The injections giving to him have another side effect. His other leg has tiger stripes and Bruno is prone to angry outburst. He's quite strong so when they're coming on, he has to be put in a straight jacket.

The reason for Winifred coming here is that her fiancé is a Vietnam vet as the synopsis states. He stepped on a landmine and lost both his arms and legs. He is extremely depressed, broke off their engagement and given up on life. She wants Dr. Stein to see if he can help Eddie. He does agree to come see him in the hospital.

It is there we get to meet Eddie. An orderly, John Dennis, is rude to Eddie. There is some deep seeded hatred here and it appears the orderly didn't make the cut to go into Vietnam. He's bitter and taking this out on the bedridden man. This orderly leaves when the doctors arrive where Eddie is quite cold to them. He does agree to be part of this experimental treatment.

Things are going well with his treatments until Malcomb expresses his love for Winifred. She politely tells him that she loves Eddie. This upsets Malcomb and he switches Eddie's DNA injections with Bruno's. The side effects for Eddie are disastrous as he becomes the monstrous Blackenstein. He rampages the area around the mansion and the cops are called in to figure what is going on here.

That's where I want to leave the recap here and get into my thoughts on this movie. Since I like to start with the positives, this is a fun update to the original Frankenstein movie. I dig that we have Dr. Winifred Walker and Malcomb having some pretty important roles. I do find it interesting though that Dr. Stein is white in this blaxploitation movie though. It is even more so that our villain is truly Malcomb, his assistant who is black, since these movies would usually have these reversed. I'll give is credit there for being different.

Something else I liked was Eddie being somewhat of a hero. Not in the sense that he won medals, but he did serve in the military which left him in the state that he is in. I love that the movie gives us this bitter orderly and he really sounds like a lot of people I see on social media. I really don't believe the story he's telling about himself physically, but it is a great that he was deemed unfit to serve. He also gets his just punishment later in the movie for what he does to Eddie.

Going back to the update of Universal Frankenstein film, we get Blackenstein running amok in the area around the mansion. It was interesting that the first two couples that are attacked are white. Most of the attacks are also on white women as well. This does come off racist and I have a feeling the attack outside of the nightclub was to help offset this. I personally don't mind it as the neighborhood that it is taking place makes a lot of sense as to who would be attacked.

Speaking of the attacks, I should briefly talk about the effects. Since I've said it a few times, Blackenstein looks very similar to the Boris Karloff take on the monster. The only thing that is confusing is where he did he get the outfit that he's wearing when he changes? They did go practical with the effects. I think a bit more blood could have been used for realism, but what we do get looks fine. When Eddie is supposed to be just a torso and head, it is pretty funny they just film him in a way where they focus on the shoulders up. You could tell he's normal under the blanket. There are some computer effects used that were pretty weak to be honest. The cinematography was fine for the most part. I just got annoyed with the constant establishing shot of the mansion exterior. It just feels that it was padding.

As for the acting, Hart is solid as Dr. Stein. He doesn't really add a lot with his performance, but he looks like he could be this character. I really liked Stone though. She gives some good emotion and we briefly see her topless. De Sue is pretty stoic as well. It does work as he's depressed from his plight. It also makes it hard to feel bad for him, even when he becomes a monster. Jackson plays this brooding villain well, but he doesn't stand out. The rest of the cast was fine in my opinion.

There isn't much to say about the soundtrack and score here. I like that they made the decision to play more soulful music throughout. That fits for what they're going for. What I really wanted to give credit to though is the nightclub singer of Cardella Di Milo. She had a great voice and the joke that the comedian there of Andy C actually made me crack up as well.

Now with that said, this movie is a fun update to Frankenstein for the blaxploitation era of the 1970s. I think there is a bit of social commentary there, but the movie isn't as progressive as I would expect for some of the ones I've seen from this subgenre. The effects aren't very good aside from a few things here or there. Acting was pretty basic and the soundtrack just fit for what was needed. Shout-outs though to Stone, Andy C and Di Milo though. I'd rate this as below average though. There are just too many little things and not enough to really push my rating over the top unfortunately. I'd recommend it if you want something a bit more fun or you like this subgenre and you're out to see all that you can.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 10

I and my friends had a great time watching this collection of dismal performances, tacky set design, a confused patchwork script, and completely unjustified invocation of serious themes like Vietnam and racism in support of exploitationist trash. The things we couldn't figure out were little things like: why does a black female physics student do graduate work with a white male medical doctor? Why this same woman had one hairdo in the lab and a completely different one two seconds later outside of the lab? Why do the doctor and the woman have dinner by themselves at opposite ends of the world's biggest dining table with the world's biggest (and ugliest) centerpiece smack in the middle? Why does the movie just stop dead right in the middle to present a couple of nightclub acts, then just pick up again like nothing had happened? And why "Blackenstein" anyway? The story has nothing to do with the Frankenstein story or anything like it. If anything, it's closer to Jekyll and Hyde....well, kinda, sorta....well, not really.....

When her boyfriend Eddie Turner (Joe DeSue) returns from Vietnam without arms and legs, Dr. Winnifred Walker (Ivory Stone) appeals to former teacher and Nobel Prize-winning Dr. Stein (John Hart) for help--and Dr. Stein, who has been fiddling with DNA, accomodates them by growing some new arms and legs. Unfortunately, the experiment goes awry, and Eddie suddenly develops a square afro, takes to wearing ankle boots, and sneaks out at night... and one of his first victims is an ugly white woman with a really bad hair-do and bad taste in pink nighties.

On the surface, BLACKENSTEIN would seem everything a cult-movie fan could ever wish. And it is true, there are about six "howlers" per minute in this film--actors who can't act, ridiculous dialogue, bad cinematography, awful special effects, extremely silly make-up, you name it, this flick has it. Trouble is, BLACKENSTEIN is also incredibly, unspeakably dull. In fact, it is so dull that after about ten minutes its dullness overpowers the giggle factor and you are left to sit in slack-jawed exhaustion.

The DVD release of this film offers nothing in the way of extras and the print is bad to boot--not that it makes any difference where this film is concerned. If you have to buy a gift for some you don't much like, this would be a perfect choice. Otherwise, steer clear.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon reviewer

I knew going in this did not have much of a reputation but, frankly, I was not expecting the result to be of such an utterly amateurish quality either! Anyway, after the runaway success that the Blaxploitation take on "Dracula" i.e. BLACULA (1972) had been, it was inevitable that Frankenstein would also undergo a similar makeover – pity they did not wait for a better script or, for that matter, a more talented crew of both technicians and performers before experimenting! Incidentally, the critique of the Vietnam War – the monster here is a veteran rendered limbless by the conflict who receives new transplants but goes typically berserk – falls flat on its face. However, neither is the make-up devised for it any better: after his cells are exchanged with those of another patient in white(!) Dr. Stein's laboratory – by a zombie-like assistant who lusts after his girl, a former pupil of the doc's – he gets an absurdly elongated and bulging forehead to go along with the recognized arms outstretched countenance and snarling! Though kept in a cell, this is conveniently left open for the creature to roam the streets freely and disembowel(!) any passer-by who happens to cross his path (but starting out with a hospital orderly who had abused him while still a cripple)! For what it is worth, the only scene that elicits a vaguely positive reaction is the irrelevant stand-up comedy routine revolving around a talking dog!

This movies is absolutely awful. I truly feel like every copy of this movie should be destroyed to prevent additional people from wasting part of their lives on it. Trust me, this movie should not be viewed, even to laugh at how bad it is.

Better than Blacula in a sense that it was much funnier. Blacula is the actual better movie but it's dull. This one starts off boring but picks up pace when one of the characters is transformed in to the titular Blackenstein. All the sequences of the monster killing others are utterly hilarious and mostly random with some victims being those that wronged Blackenstein and others being random civilians. Even the last victim which he chases during the epic climax is just a random woman we've never seen before, that is unless I missed some nuanced character introduction in the earlier scenes. On another note I don't know how anyone could get caught by Blackenstein as his victims do since he moves at the speed of a bag of sand rolling down the stairs but I digress. Watch it, it's terrible and funny which is what anybody who chooses to watch this will want.

Eddie Turner steps on a landmine whilst serving in Nam and loses his limbs as a result. His fiance Winifred is a physicist and looks to her former teacher Doctor Stein (his name is a red flag already) who has recently won the Nobel prize for his work regarding DNA and so may be able to graft new limbs onto Eddie. What could possibly go wrong? Well, lots. Dr Stein's assistant Malcomb is knocked back by Winifred and so to retaliate he contaminates the DNA solution used in Eddie's operation so that Eddie turns into an uncontrollable killing man-beast. While he appears bed-bound by day he secretly goes on killing rampages at night.

As you may have guessed this is the blaxploitation version of Frankenstein and was made after Blacula (the blaxploitation version of...do I really have to tell you?!) was a hit at the box office.

The main word when describing this film is FUN. Yes, it's cheesy in places but so what? It's a perfect time capsule of the genre and what horror and drive-in audiences were lapping up at the time. And if I had been around during this era I would have been with them doing the same.

I'm loving that Eddie's first port of call is to pay a visit to the male nurse we saw being abusive to him earlier in the film. I also love the fact that the punishment that Eddie doles out is to rip off one of the orderly's arms. Who said there was no such thing as irony in films like this?

Blackenstein is also noteworthy as John Waters' starlet Liz Renay is one of Blackenstein's victims. Yes, Ms Renay from Desperate Living!

Look out for the Severin Blu ray that restores two versions of the film (the theatrical and slightly longer home video version). The film has never looked or sounded so good.