Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove

When I was a kid it always used to bother me that the Creature from the Black Lagoon was listed among the Classic Universal Monsters, but never encountered any of the others. My favorite Universals were always the "monster rallies", such as "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" and I've had a terrible hunger for more such films, but sadly there just weren't any more to be had.

As an adult, I've always wanted to see "Retro-Horror" films, films in the style of the Classics I loved.

"Frankenstein vs the Creature from Blood Cove" is a Monster Rally in the grand old sense. FINALLY I get to see a "Creature" interacting with another classic monster. This is as close to "Frankenstein vs the Creature from the Black Lagoon" as we will ever get to see. It's not just a fun film, it is the realization of a dream I've had since I was a kid. And it is proof that "Retro-Horror" CAN be done and that there is a market for it.

FvtCfBC features not just the two lead monsters, but also has a Werewolf, a Bride of Frankenstein, the ghost of Dr. Frankenstein and more--all in designs that are spectacular, given the limitations of the film's budget! "Frankenstein vs the Creature from Blood Cove" may not please some of the stuffier fans of the classics that inspired it, but nevertheless it is a great fun romp of a movie, made with a profound love of those classics and with a wee bit of spice for the modern audience. In that regard, it has a lot in common with the AIP b&w classics of the '60's. It's sort of Frankenstein meets the Creature on Del Tenney's beach. Sort of.

Destined to be a Cult Classic!

William Winkler Jr. has put together a wonderful tribute to those cheesy "B" movies we know and love with "Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove." Monsters are back and this movie has them in spades. This is a film that Roger Corman would be proud of...no it's better than most of his work. Now the truth be told, there is a smattering of nudity in the form of topless and beautiful young ladies, but then again, this is the 21st century and that's not only expected by distributors, but also welcomed by a large part of the audience....including me! This is a film that screams out for a hot date by your side, a couple of cold ones in hand and a big tub of popcorn nearby. It's a fun romp!

I hate to trash a movie whose creators seem so sincere in their attempt to craft an old fashioned entertaining movie but the fact is this is a mess. I can't even figure out whether it's supposed to be a "homage" to the black and white drive-in movies of the 50s or a spoof of them. There's so little humor that I suspect we're supposed to take it seriously (as the makers of, say,FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER clearly meant it to be taken seriously) but then we have the lab table made from a beach chair and the silly gags in the strip joint and really, what are we to make of that? And FRANKENSTEIN VS.... lacks even the rudimentary professionalism that ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS or I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN could boast. The acting ranges from adequate to awful, the shot on video production screams student film, and the most baffling things are the monster costumes. The Gill Man, for example, clearly had a lot of attention devoted to it but the head is so obviously a mask just sitting on top of the body, with no attempt to blend it in so that it looks like part of the same creature, that it ALMOST seems to be a deliberate joke. But I don't think it is. I think the makers of this movie just didn't know any better. It's too bad.

And all those ten star ratings! It's nice when your friends try to help out, but please.....

Is it possible for movie music to make your teeth hurt? Tried the first 20 min . It hurt . But persisted.

After reading several of the glowing reviews on IMDb for Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove, I feel like I'm in the minority. I really do not care at all for the film. In fact, I pretty much hate it. My 2/10 is incredibly generous. The plot isn't worth going into, the acting is about as amateurish as I've seen, the direction is poor, the special effects are laughable, and everything else scrapes the bottom of the barrel. When Ron Jeremy is the biggest name actor in the cast, you know you've got problems. I've seen people call this movie an homage to the Universal monster films of the 30s. I find that notion insulting. I think the movie might have been trying to do to the Universal monsters what The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra did to 50s sci- fi or what Scream of the Bikini did to 60s Eurospy. Unfortunately, it fails miserably.

So, if it's so bad, why haven't I rated the movie lower? Two words - Carla Harvey. I watched the movie because Carla Harvey, one of the lead singers for Butcher Babies, has a very, very small role. She's in the movie for less than 5 minutes. She pops up on the beach, poses for a photographer, takes her top off, and gets killed. That 5 minutes of Carla Harvy is worth a rating point to my way of thinking.