Blackenstein

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

Well the movie is silly now but you got to really understand that was 1973 and it was scary back then. even the original movies are not scary now . But they was back then. so come on now. if today they do a remake of blackenstien YES it would be scary now .THINK ABOUT IT.AND THE MOVIES THEY make now unless the music is really hard people are not that scared now. but on the real tip the movie was not all that bad for it,s time that it came out.the end of it was a bit silly. It did not have that hard core thunder to it . and really if it was a black movie why all the white women getting kill . you don,t see that many black women getting killed in the white movies . just asking OK don,t get it wrong . just something to think about.

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!...

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.

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...