Frankenstein oltre le frontiere del tempo

In 1990, B-movie god Roger Corman would return to the director's chair to 'show the kids how it's done'. I'm not sure why he chose to do this, as after his series of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations in the sixties; Corman has to prove nothing to nobody. Anyway, he decided otherwise and this film adaptation of Brian Aldiss's novel of the same title is the result. The plot absolutely reeks of something that would make a great campy B-movie, and while this is very messy indeed; Corman has created something that is indeed very camp, and very much a B-class film. The film, however, is absolutely nothing the like best films that Corman has made; but it does show that three decades after he made films like 'The Terror' and ' The Little Shop of Horrors', the man that made a hundred movies in Hollywood and never lost a dime hasn't lost his love for really silly movies! The plot blends classic literature with period drama and Sci-Fi, and sees the American inventor of a new weapon being sent back in time to 1817 Switzerland, where he meets Mary Shelly, along with the inspirations for her book; Victor Frankenstein and his monster!

I'm sure that the themes were a lot better handled in the book, but even though this is a very silly film; they still shine through. In the classic story, Frankenstein created his monster with the intention of helping mankind, and our scientist here has done the same thing. Both men's experiments ended up going wrong with dire consequences, and the story harks back to Shelly's classic theme of how man should not try and play God. One thing I really didn't like about this film was the make-up on the monster. It looks silly, and not in a good way; and since the monster is a big part of the story, it brings the film down a little. Corman has recruited a decent cast for this flick, including John Hurt, Raul Julia and Bridget Fonda. This is hardly an actor's film, however, and none of them put in good performances. John Hurt looks bored most of the time, and the rest of the cast are on autopilot; but like I say, it's not an actor's film so it doesn't matter. Overall, I can definitely see why a lot of people don't like this film - but if, like me, you have a penchant for ridiculous movies; you'll probably find something to like here.

The film narrates how a scientist (John Hurt) of the future is become into a time traveller . Thus , he accidentally returns 1816 and nearly a lagoon Swiss he meets Lord Byron (Jason Patrick), his lover Mary Shelley (Bridget Fonda) and Percy Shelley ; but also Baron Frankenstein (Raul Julia) and his monster (Nick Brimble). The Baron has created a terrifying monster and cannot ultimately control him but he develops a taste for a bride and he begins a killing spree .The monster is really horrifying , he's vengeful and craving of blood.

A sci-fi movie version of the legendary terror story. Lots of horror images and the picture's entertaining with no being too creepy . Good performances from John Hurt and Raul Julia and great supporting cast as Jason Patrick, Bridget Fonda, Nick Brimble, and with several powerful sequences . Besides, the film has great loads of blood and gore , the filmmaker retains a fascination with the decapitated members. Some typical elements as the monster's bride, the madness and electric storm on the tower remain still in similar way. Excellent atmosphere provided by professional cinematographers as Armando Nannuzzi and Michael Scott. Film is based on Brian Aldiss novel (Artificial intelligence A. I.). The motion picture was regularly directed by Roger Corman, in fact there are gaps as well as flaws in the plot and results to be a little slow-moving. Rating : 5.5/10. Average but amusing.

I have to admit, I enjoyed this film, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. This is only the second Roger Corman film I've seen so far, and therefore I can only really compare it to the other film I saw by him, The Terror. I can clearly recognize the directing style, and basic film-making style, but I must say that this is better than The Terror. The plot is pretty good, and fairly interesting, and more original than most other films dealing with Frankenstein. It has a decent enough pace; I wasn't bored for the 90 minutes it lasted. The script is fairly good too, a good twist on the original Frankenstein story, though I guess some fans of the original story wouldn't like the various changes. The acting is good enough, both John Hurt and Raul Julia gives pretty good performances, and the rest of the cast is decent. The characters are fairly well-written and credible. The film has a fairly bad name, it seems; yes, the monster does look more like the result of genetic mutation or something similar, rather than a creature built together by human bodies, and, arguably, the film has several violent scenes that seem to be there mainly to add violence rather than substance to the film, but apart from that, the film is pretty good, at least worth a watch, if only one watch. The effects are decent enough, at least for a film from 1990. The makeup effects and such were also pretty good, I must say that the monster's face, especially the eyes, did send a chill through my spine, the first time he was shown. I liked the various science fiction aspects of the film, and the social commentary was very good, too. The ending was a little weird, but it was a fairly good climax. All in all, a decent enough science fiction/horror drama, and worth one watch, if you can catch it for free. I recommend it to fans of Roger Corman and open-minded fans of Frankenstein and/or horror films in general; just be prepared that it won't be an incredible or very memorable film, just an entertaining 90 minutes, if you're into violent movies without any real purpose. 6/10

Frankenstein Unbound is one of those movies that is almost impossible to categorize. Part horror, part science fiction, part fantasy, and part comedy. And what is even more interesting is the cast of all stars. Roger Corman is able to put all of these together to form a truly mesmerizing film that you will never forget.

It is in the future. John Hurt plays Dr. Joe Buchanan, a slightly mad scientist who has developed a weapon for the government that harness's the power of a black hole. In the process, he has inadvertently created a worm hole that might destroy the world. On his way home from work, Buchanan is sucked into the hole and sent back in time to Europe 1812. It is here he meets Victor Frankenstein (played wonderfully by Raul Julia) and discovers that the story of Frankenstein's Monster is in fact a true story.

I believe what makes this movie so much fun is that as serious as the story appears to take itself it is actually rather humorous. Most of the scenes with the Monster in them are actually laugh out loud funny. There are a few scenes with the monster that just need to be seen to be fully understood as most of the movie is quite a bleak comedy. The ending to the movie is truly one of the bleakest endings I have ever seen.

For a Roger Corman film this is really well done. John Hurt and Raul Julia really compliment each other in this movie. It is too bad that Bridget Fonda and Jason Patric didn't have bigger roles in the movie as their characters are fascinating as well.

Well, I certainly enjoyed this film. I have watched it countless times throughout the years and I still have not grown tired of it. For me, truly a timeless film that I will watch many more times. 9/10

I've watched this film several times now and actually, every time I watch it seems to get a little better each time. It's an original concept on the continuance of the Frankenstein myth with some added "modern" futuristic bends and twists that motivate the story along. One of the best thing about this film is John Hurt. This doesn't seem to be his type of movie yet he does very well in it. His voice, especially, is captivating and keeps your attention. He has the type of voice that very few actors these days can boast about in that it has personality and sonority in tone. Something akin to the voices of Colin Clive, Vincent Price and of course, Claude Rains. If they ever decide to do a serious biopic about Rains, I really hope that John Hurt is considered: he'd be perfect for the part! "Yes...I know. Made me from dead. I love dead...hate living." - The Monster in the original 1935 "Bride of Frankenstein"