Found footage, found schmootage.
This was just an hour and a half of wobbly images, aimless running around and indecipherable shouting with no plot and no purpose. It would've been a million times better if it had been shot in the style of a Puppetmaster movie.
It came as no surprise at all to learn that the director is primarily a designer/concept artist. Just skip the movie and go straight to the action figures, matey.
Frankenstein's Army
- The Soapmaker
- Undead Horde
- Posts: 453
- Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:50 am
- Location: London
Re: Frankenstein's Army
Found this dull and frustrating and making it found footage was very unnecessary.
-
- Frightfest Hardcore
- Posts: 1560
- Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 5:54 pm
- Location: A hell of my own making
- Contact:
Re: Frankenstein's Army
Agreed on the FF thing: having got the sets and costumes and swastika-branded monsters, why YET AGAIN make a film that looks so terrible, and the very technique of its alleged existence makes no sense at all. Did the Russians really have 16:9 widescreen HD stereo cameras in 1944? If this was supposed to be even faintly authentic it should have been in black and white, Academy ratio and silent. They could have made a cracking little trash film that topped Iron Sky, and I would have enjoyed the hell out of it; instead, it has the visual aesthetic of the outtakes from the Making Of featurette.
http://streetrw.blogspot.com - For all your occasional film rambling needs.
http://twitter.com/streetrw - For when you really need to know what I had for breakfast.
AND NOW: SKYPE!
http://twitter.com/streetrw - For when you really need to know what I had for breakfast.
AND NOW: SKYPE!
-
- Walking Dead
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:00 pm
- Location: Bedfordshire
Re: Frankenstein's Army
I found this utterly hateful from start to finish, creature designs excepted.
The stupid decision to go the found footage route made it exhausting to watch, and the incessant camera cuts and restarts, falling into ditches and so on must have added 20 minutes to the running time. I couldn't count the number of times monsters walked up to the camera (to show them off I guess) and attacked the cameraman with seemingly no ill effects, and no damage to the camera.
There was no coherent story - it lurched from one poorly executed random encounter to another, and the scenes where they all sat around arguing about stuff were like a bad school play.
Completely incompetent in all areas apart from design. Nazi zombie monsters stitched together and attacking people should have been a slam dunk.
Worst of the fest for me by a mile, made 'Zombie Women of Satan' look like the Citizen Kane of horror films by comparison.
The stupid decision to go the found footage route made it exhausting to watch, and the incessant camera cuts and restarts, falling into ditches and so on must have added 20 minutes to the running time. I couldn't count the number of times monsters walked up to the camera (to show them off I guess) and attacked the cameraman with seemingly no ill effects, and no damage to the camera.
There was no coherent story - it lurched from one poorly executed random encounter to another, and the scenes where they all sat around arguing about stuff were like a bad school play.
Completely incompetent in all areas apart from design. Nazi zombie monsters stitched together and attacking people should have been a slam dunk.
Worst of the fest for me by a mile, made 'Zombie Women of Satan' look like the Citizen Kane of horror films by comparison.
Re: Frankenstein's Army
I liked this. To be honest, it didn't need to be found-footage but whatevs, I am not that too averse to that style of filmmaking.
This was all about creature design and the last hour of the film. The character development and plot was so flimsy I would have rather that it had not have been there. This film would have been far better in my opinion if the first 30 mins of set-up was hacked off the front and it was just 60 mins of chaos in the bunker. I know there is a need for films to be a certain lenght to satisfy commercial needs, but as a consumer I would rather, in the case of this film, not be subjected to a pointless set-up for a film with a nonexistent plot. I would rather that spectacle just takes over entirely.
Still, I did enjoy this and I thought the middle and end sections were really fun. I would recommend to people but I would also recommend they skip the first 30 mins.
This was all about creature design and the last hour of the film. The character development and plot was so flimsy I would have rather that it had not have been there. This film would have been far better in my opinion if the first 30 mins of set-up was hacked off the front and it was just 60 mins of chaos in the bunker. I know there is a need for films to be a certain lenght to satisfy commercial needs, but as a consumer I would rather, in the case of this film, not be subjected to a pointless set-up for a film with a nonexistent plot. I would rather that spectacle just takes over entirely.
Still, I did enjoy this and I thought the middle and end sections were really fun. I would recommend to people but I would also recommend they skip the first 30 mins.
Re: Frankenstein's Army
I also don't agree with this totally (although I do in case of FA) as three of the best films I saw at FrightFest were found-footage, and a few others successfully used aspects of the style. I think, if used well, it can be very successful but often the style is just laziness and and a way of getting a lot done for little money.danthsmith wrote:please, please stop the found footage thing. It's over, letys all move on.
- Wulfster
- Running Zombie
- Posts: 184
- Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2012 4:55 pm
- Location: Local to London, England
- Contact:
Re: Frankenstein's Army
Just as an aside, in the latest copy of Fangoria, it states that Rik Mayall nearly got the part of Frankenstein in the movie!
I can't even begin to think what that would have been like...
Frankenstein: "I've killed all the Russians! Huzzah for me! Is that a drill in your face or are you just happy to see me? Woof! Woof!""
All the Zombots: "Hurrah!!"
I can't even begin to think what that would have been like...
Frankenstein: "I've killed all the Russians! Huzzah for me! Is that a drill in your face or are you just happy to see me? Woof! Woof!""
All the Zombots: "Hurrah!!"
- zappa fan
- Frightfest Hardcore
- Posts: 1257
- Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:21 pm
- Location: Sunny Caerphilly (133.4 Miles West of Fright Fest)
- Contact:
Re: Frankenstein's Army
Currently on Plex and Shudder
LAST FILM- Turistas 2006
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it's just hilarious." - Bill Hicks
twitter @nottsey
Letterboxd nottsey
Instagram nottsey
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it's just hilarious." - Bill Hicks
twitter @nottsey
Letterboxd nottsey
Instagram nottsey