About.com Rating
The Bottom Line
A well-acted but dull and unoriginal slice of found footage.
Pros
- Good acting
Cons
- Slow pace
- Bland action
- Predictable, unimaginative story
Description
- Starring Kris Lemche, Joe Egender, Timothy V. Murphy, Heather Stephens, Eric Zuckerman, Brian Henderson, Christine Lakin
- Directed by Andrew Weiner
- Rated NR
- DVD Release Date: March 26, 2013
Guide Review - 'THe Frankenstein Theory' DVD Review
Filmmaker Vicky decides to make a documentary about her old college friend Jonathan Venkenheim, who's descended from the man he claims was the inspiration for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Johan Venkenheim.
Jonathan believes that not only did his grandfather's great-great grandfather actual create a monster like in the novel, but the creature is still alive to this day, living in the snowy wilderness of the Yukon. Vicky and her crew follow him into the wild, led by a surly guide named Carl. Although no one initially believes Jonathan, strange noises and shocking acts of violence turn their expedition into a life-or-death battle with a being beyond their comprehension.
I've been a defender of the "found footage" format since people complained back in 1999 about The Blair Witch Project's dizzying camerawork and how abrupt the ending was, but The Frankenstein Theory exemplifies the recent glut of lazy, uninspired entries that make it difficult to support the sub-genre. It's produced by the writers of one of the best that found footage has had to offer in recent years, 2010's The Last Exorcism, but they seem to have done little to improve the final product other than acquire a solid cast, led by familiar face Kris Lemche (Ginger Snaps, Final Destination 3) as Jonathan.
The deathly slow plot is as basic as they come, with a simple setup that goes nowhere, content with setting its one-note characters up for standard horror movie fates: illogically separating from the pack and turning up dead, over and over. It reminds me of another recent underwhelming found footage film dealing with the search for a well-known mythical character, Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes, but with even less of a payoff. The creature has about a minute of screen time, which isn't necessarily a bad thing (the Blair Witch had no screen time), but the tedious nature of the proceedings leading up to its reveal builds immense pressure on there being some sort of climactic "wow" factor...and there never is. The Frankenstein Theory never captures the intimate, immersive feel of the best found footage fare, its characters and plot failing to draw us in to the point where we could even think of being scared.
The DVD
No special features.
Movie: D+
DVD: F
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