‘Frankenstein Legacy’ VOD Review
Stars: Philip Martin Brown, Juliet Aubrey, Michelle Ryan, Matt Barber, Katie Sheridan, Charles Dale, Andrew McGillan, Alexandra Afryea | Written by Paul Dudbridge, Jim Griffin | Directed by Paul Dudbridge
There have been a whole host of movies featuring Frankenstein’s monster. The first appeared in 1910 and the most famous and best is still 1931’s Frankenstein. Its sequel in 1935 – Bride of Frankenstein – is another classic but there’s been probably more misses than hits since then. In 2013 Frankenstein’s Army had some cool ideas but didn’t hit the heights it perhaps should have while the following year’s I, Frankenstein was a fun, if throwaway, action horror. Bernard Rose directed 2015’s Frankenstein and I wish more people would check that out because it’s great. While this year brings Lisa Frankenstein and this, co-writer/director Paul Dudbridge’s Frankenstein’s Legacy.
Frankenstein’s Legacy is set in 1875, 100 years after Victor Frankenstein’s doomed experiment, and since then his diary has been passed down/stolen/sold on and used for similar purposes to its original use. Now in the hands of the scientist Millicent Browning, at the same time her husband kills himself. She becomes desperate to bring him back but when their son discovers bodies disappearing, including his father’s he starts getting closer to the truth.
Period drama horror isn’t something I think much about and at first, you wouldn’t think there’s a whole lot of it about, but Frankenstein Legacy definitely falls into the category which includes a good variety of movies such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Crimson Peak, Interview With The Vampire and Sleepy Hollow. Frankenstein’s Legacy definitely leans more towards the drama than the horror though. It focuses much more on the son trying to discover who is stealing the bodies, than it does the mother experimenting on the bodies. I would have preferred things the other way around.
The monster itself isn’t particularly scary either. The make-up effects to make the face look distorted and sewn together is decent enough but the actor playing the role isn’t big or tall enough to display the menace the character should bring. He is not helped by the hooded robe the monster wears either. The one ‘big’ fight scene produces feats of strength that don’t look convincing and are not the most interesting-looking fight choreography either.
Thankfully the performances are good though. Matt Barber (Downtown Abbey, Dracula) plays the son, William Browning, and alongside him, Alexandra Afryea plays Liza, his love interest. I thought they were good on screen together and Barer in particular looked assured and, like most of the class, made the dialogue convincing and not as cheesy as it could have been in lesser hands. There are a couple of almost clichéd characters but the acting made sure they all came across okay. Well-known Eastenders actress Michelle Ryan (Cockneys Vs Zombies) also features.
The costumes and the sets looked great. Despite a relatively low budget, the filmmakers have done a good job on how Frankenstein’s Legacy looks, with only the odd use of some bad CGI. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so much of a fan of the musical score.
If you’re a horror fan who can’t get enough of period drama horror and have been thinking there’s not enough of it, then Frankenstein’s Legacy is worth checking out. But for most genre fans, there’s not enough ‘horror’ here to get you excited. Maybe fans of Downtown Abbey and the like might get more out of this.
Frankenstein’s Legacy is out now on digital platforms from 101 Films.
