Film Review: Creature Feature Vibe in ‘Frankenstein: Day of the Beast’

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CHICAGO – If your heart flutters when you think about the drive-in days of old, with a triple feature of B-movie horror films, then writer/director Ricardo Islas delivers a nostalgic kick with “Frankenstein: Day of the Beast.” The film has its world premiere in Chicago on Sunday, November 27th, at the Portage Theater on Milwaukee Avenue.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
Rating: 3.0/5.0

It has all the familiar Frankenstein monster elements, but also delivers a certain style and authority that allows it to make its own mark. The acting, setting, costumes and dialogue screams drive-in movie fare, but the production gamely reaches out to retell the myth with a little sex, a lot of gore and an interesting take on the reanimation portion of the monster. There is a vague application as to the time and place of where the film is set, and the actors are very comfortable being their Midwestern selves, but this horror film has passion behind it and enough strange elements to literally chew upon.

The film opens at a remote cabin in a time and place that is rather vague. A newly minted married couple are visiting the groom’s sister and father. There is a bit of kerfuffle over the strange customs of the bride, as she goes into the woods with a prayer blanket. While there, she is attacked by a strange beast (Tim Krueger) and killed. The beast continues his reign of terror by killing the rest of the residents of the cabin.

This film then cuts to a boatload of people heading to a mysterious island. On their arrival, a priest in the party is to perform a wedding ceremony between Victor Frankenstein (Adam Stephenson) and his cousin Elizabeth (Michelle Shields). There is an urgency to the wedding, and a strangeness about it, for Frankenstein has brought a group of mercenaries to make sure the ceremony is completed. The wedding party and the hired guns then become trapped on the island by the same beast from the cabin murders, which is revealed to be a brought-back-from-the-dead creation of Victor Frankenstein. The new bride of Victor seems to be the primary target, and the truth of that targeting has implications for all concerned.

”Frankenstein: Day of the Beast” has its World Premiere in Chicago on Sunday, November 27th, 4pm at the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee. Featuring Michelle Shields, Tim Krueger, Adam Stephenson, Paul Barile, Suzy Brack and Jay Disney. Written and directed by Ricardo Islas. Not Rated. For more information, click here.

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Frankenstein: Day of the Beast”

Bride of?: Michelle Shields as Elizabeth in ‘Frankenstein: Day of the Beast’
Michelle Shields as Elizabeth in ‘Frankenstein: Day of the Beast’
Photo credit: Alpha Studios

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Frankenstein: Day of the Beast”

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