Depraved

A reimagining of Shelly's Frankenstein and in many ways closer to the spirit of the book than any modern interpretation. Problem is, this film takes a very long time to develop. I read the synopsis and thought it would be interesting, and it is, but kind of dull partly because it's so close to Shelly's gothic masterpiece. The underlying message of the film has also been visited so many times that it felt over familiar. I was disappointed that with such a prolonged build up the action was strangely censored. Considering the grotesque nature of the back story it seemed odd to not show the murders. Weirdly feel good, not particularly horrible, could of been better than it was.

I nearly didn't watch this because of the title and the poster artwork. I just presumed it would be a cheap and nasty horror flick. But it's a really good reworking of the Frankenstein story and quite poignant in parts. The characters are well rounded and you actually do care about them. It has a good script though there are parts that seem rushed or out of character towards the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was glad I took the trouble to give it a go.

Early reviews, particulary the one from Bloody Disgusting intrigued me a lot, and I've always had a lot of respect for Larry Fessenden and the work he does on indie horror scene, from directing to producing to acting. I'm happy to say this is my favorite work of his.

"Depraved" is the good old Frankenstein tale, put into a modern setting with modern problems. Henry, an army veteran and a field medic who's suffering from PTSD has teamed up with his life-long friend, the rich, greedy and egocentrical John to create a new life - Adam. All three of the main characters are more than one dimensional, brought on to screen by good performances, with the most pleasantly surprising being that by Alex Breaux who portrays Adam or the created life, the monster. Unexpectedly great portrayal, perhaps the main reason I'm recommending this. "Depraved" runs for 110 minutes which was concerning at first, but the pacing endured and boredom can be avoided (can, of course, also means there's a can't). Make no mistake, it's a drama before it's a horror, but it flows nicely and evenly, the dialogue is enjoyable and there's enough thought provoking material to filter. The FX is good and believable, cinematography is crafty and diverse though I noticed a few seemingly unintentionally out-of-focus shots.

I generally don't like Frankenstein tales much, there have been a lot of painfully average examples, even the one with Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy was worse than this. "Depraved" might not be the freshest or richest one of them, but it feels steady, heartful and entertaining. I've seen almost every directional feature of Fessenden (the ones that've come out since 2000) and I do think I can objectivly conclude that this is his best. My rating: 7/10.

A near-perfect reimagining of the classic 'Frankenstine's Monster' tale; though this has a hell of a lot more emotion in it than one might expect at first glance.

The small but beautifully acted cast of characters is great, the set design and makeup is impeccable, and the writing and directing is on point.

I was way more impressed with this than I expected to be; I feel it's nearly a modern classic in hiding.

Throw it on Netflix and give it the exposure it deserves.

Not bad... I watched this without reading the description or watching the trailer and I think that really made it better. I enjoyed the cinematography (9/10) and the modern take on a classic storyline, I also liked the subtle dig on the pharmaceutical industry. Acting/Script (7/10) was lacking in certain areas but was better than average overall.