It is always
impressive when a low-budget film can manage to look like it was made on a
studio budget. Less impressive but more noticeable are the films that are made
with close to no budget with nothing more than innovation and creativity. Frankenstein’s Army has a budget which
is so low that it almost appears to embellish the simplicity to boast of its
filmmaking abilities. The filmmakers seem content to allow us to see how
minimized the costs were, because that only enhances the impressiveness of the
special effects while detracting from the lack of story or character
development. The end result feels like a walk through an amusement park horror
maze, showcasing gory images without any substance beyond the visual tricks.
Utilizing the
tired found-footage style of filmmaking allows for the film to have shaky
camera work and jarring editing while appearing amateurish intentionally. In
the final days of World War II, a group of Soviet soldiers and a documentary
filmmaker go on a mission into enemy territory when they stumble upon a secret
lab run by a deranged Nazi scientist (Karel Roden). The lab is an old factory
of sorts, and it is filled with humans he has reanimated with machinery
attached to their body. As the fake-documentary style filmmaking allows the
audience to travel through the hallways of the maze, encountering these
creatures, the entire film feels as if a filmmaker simply took a camera into a
Halloween maze to film a make-shift movie. Add in an excessive amount of sound effects
to attempt to make up for the shortcomings of the actors in the suits and
make-up and you have the makeshift horror film provided with Frankenstein’s Army.
The highlight of
this film is very clearly the monsters, which very often move like a man in an
awkward costume rather than anything mechanical or stiffly affected by rigor
mortis the way that the sound effects would suggest. Though the movement is off
and the sound is nearly always more obnoxious than realistic, the visual look
of each creation gives pause. With each new addition for our forgettable
protagonists to run from, Frankenstein’s Army becomes more engaging. The
soldiers in the mad scientist’s army are far more entertaining even in their
silence than any of the dialogue we are provided from our so-called
protagonists. Even having just finished watching this film, I can’t recall who,
if anyone survives at the end of the movie. I do remember each of the monsters
that hunted them, however.
The Blu-ray
release includes a making-of featurette, as well as various spots for the
creatures and a trailer.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 4/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
Disc Features: 5/10
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