Tales of Frankenstein

I must admit that I was definitely expecting a lot more from the 2018 movie anthology "Tales of Frankenstein" given its somewhat above average rating here on IMDb. So of course, with my love for the horror genre and Frankenstein being such an iconic story and character, I found the time to sit down and watch "Tales of Frankenstein".

Well, at least half of it anyway. Then I just simply gave up on the movie out of sheer boredom. This movie anthology was just way too slow paced for my liking, and it was somewhat of a struggle to stay awake as the monotonous stories trotted about on the screen.

And little did it help that the acting in the stories were dubious at best.

This was definitely not a Frankenstein-inspired anthology that appealed to me, nor did it find a home with me. It was just simply too uneventful and mundane for my liking. And I can honestly say that I have no interest in returning to finish the last half of it.

For a horror anthology, then the segments were lacking proper special effects, and the effects that were there just weren't great. Which ultimately did nothing to promote the overall enjoyment of the movie, I am afraid.

My rating of "Tales of Frankenstein" lands on a three out of ten stars.

The film's stories consist of "My Creation, My Beloved" - a descendant of Victor Frankenstein attempts to create the perfect man and woman. "Crawler from the Grave" - another Frankenstein descendant returns from the grave in the most unexpected way. "Madhouse of Death" - A private detective ends up in an old, dark house where a scientist is working on a very strange experiment. "Dr. Karnstein's Creation" - A mad scientist creates a monster that is a hybrid of Frankenstein's creature and the Vampire monster.

"My Creation, My Beloved" moves a bit slow, but it stays true to the original Frankenstein asthetic, and often shows a homage to the Hammer Film era. The cinematography and locations are atmospheric and a nice marker for what a classic horror fan wants. Although the story seems slightly unoriginal, it does give us a fun, alternative ending to the Frankenstein tale.

"Crawler From The Grave" moves a bit away from the more classic tale, but still manages to honor Shelley's characters. It does venture into more paranormal area with the cursed ring worn by Frankenstein. A more original tale, I thought it was interesting but I felt the absence of the monster making was crippling the entertainment value.

"Madhouse Of Death" was my least favorite of the four stories. It ventured too far to really show recognizable Frankenstein homage. On its own though, the concept and story choices are interesting and worthy. A total nod to late 30's and 40's horror noir, like The Monster Walks and The Return Of Doctor X. I just didn't get any real connection to Mary Shelley from this one. And there is a lot of cultural insensitivity in the film with a few characters, I know it is unintentionally present.

"Dr. Karstein's Creation" is a revisioning of the classic Frankenstein tale, and among the strongest of the four stories. There is an air of misogny that weighs on the entertainment value, but the story on a whole returns to a truer interpretation of the Shelley story and has some nice visual asthetics and creature design.

Overall "Tales Of Frankenstein" is a decent indie anthology that tries real hard to celebrate Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It has its good moments and bad moments. The stories may not be original but Gluts' choices and perspective is. Low-budget indie fans will find plenty to like about this movie, however thriller and popcorn horror fans may be disappointed.

Those that know me, know that I am extremely selective about horror movies and normally I am not attracted to it, very rare times I sit and watch horror films, specially the "classic kind" but I came across the opportunity to play this title on my home theater and immediately the 1st thing I was surprised by was the sound, it actually has great sound, although is not my type of movie but I was happy with Mel Novak's performance and I became a fan of Donald F. Glut after watching the bonus material on the disc, is really cool to see how this film maker has been around for so long making films out of passion, very inspirational and interesting. definitely worth to have as part of your collection :)

Just so you know what you're getting. If you're a fan of poorly made low quality B-movies and ham acting then you might enjoy this (but I doubt it). I just didn't have the patience for it. It is a poor throw back to everything bad about Hammer films of the seventies and I feel bad for putting down the hammer movies. This is just silly and over the top in an incompetent way.

I am unsure what the makers were trying to accomplish but it was just lost on me. If you feel nostalgic and wish to watch a Frankenstien film then go for Boris Karloff because at least you will get a proper taste of the genre but this is a poor imitation. Sorry to say this is not worth the time or effort.

A great indie tribute to a horror classic. I thought the acting was spot on for the thematic tone and genre. Anyone looking at this film with a critical opinion is clearly not watching the film from it's intended lens. Some of my favorite performances from this ensemble cast were Jack Anvil played by Jamisin Matthews and Helga played by Lilian Lev. Matthew's embodiment of 1940's Los Angles style was excellent, he even get's a great one liner in about "Central Casting" Also Buddy Friedman's Dr. Frankenstein was uniquely grounded by a great understanding of the material and it's characters.