Frankenstein Unbound

"Frankenstein Unbound" is a 1990 horror movie based on Brian Aldiss' novel of the same name. This film was directed by famed independent filmmaker Roger Corman, who also directed such films as "The Raven," "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Masque of the Red Death".

Cast

The primary character of the film is scientist "Joe Buchanan" who is played by actor John Hurt. The supporting characters include: Raul Julia who plays Frankenstein and Bridget Fonda who portrays Mary Shelley.

Actor Jason Patric appears briefly in this film as Lord Byron. And, in a rare film appearance, the lead singer for INXS, Michael Hutchence, plays Percy Shelley.

Plot

Dr. Buchanan's scientific team are working to develop the ultimate weapon, an energy beam that will vaporize whatever it is aimed at. It is Buchanan's hope that he can create a weapon so powerful that it will end all war and have the added benefit of having no impact on the environment. Unfortunately the prototype seems to be have some side effects, namely erratic global weather patterns and rifts in time that have caused some people to vanish. One of these disappearances is Buchanan himself as he drives home from the testing facility.

Buchanan and his car are zapped into Switzerland in 1817. In a nearby village, he meets Victor Frankenstein. The two of them discuss science over dinner but it is soon revealed that Frankenstein's little brother has been killed. A trial is being held to determine the guilt or innocence of the boy's nanny, who is suspected in the murder.

During the trial, several villagers talk about a monster they've seen in the woods and suggest that maybe this is the killer. Buchanan observes the trial but becomes interested in a young woman taking copious notes on the proceedings. This woman turns out to be Mary Shelly, author of the Frankenstein novel. She seems very interested in the talk of monsters but unfortunately for the nanny, the judge is not. The nanny is sentenced to die at the gallows.

Buchanan is appalled at the thought that an innocent girl will die when he knows that it was the monster who killed the child. He implored Frankenstein to come forward and tell the people the truth, but Frankenstein declines. Buchanan then asks Shelly for help, telling her that he knows her book will tell the truth because he's read it. After a brief tryst, Shelly decides that she'd rather not get involved with Buchanan any farther for fear of learning too much about her own future. Buchanan is on his own. He drives his car to Frankenstein's workshop and finds the doctor in discussion with the monster.

The monster, it seems, has killed Frankenstein's fiance, saying that if a mate was not made for him then he would deprive Frankenstein of his. Frankenstein asks Buchanan to use his knowledge of electricity to assist in resurrecting the dead woman. Buchanan agrees and instructs the monster to run some cables to the weather vane on the roof. While the monster is distracted, Buchanan re-routes some of the electrical cables to begin powering up the prototype laser in his car. As the lightning strikes the tower again and again, the battery on the laser begins to charge and the corpse on the table begins to move. At the same moment the woman and the laser come to life and Buchanan fires, vaporizing the castle and, he hopes, ending the monster's killing and Frankenstein's slip into madness.

But the laser opens another time rift, sending Buchanan, Frankenstein and the two monsters spinning into far future. They land on a snowy mountain with no sign of any civilization around them. Frankenstein and the monster both try to entice the woman to them, but she is horrified by her monstrous situation and commits suicide. Enraged, the monster kills Frankenstein and trudges off into the snowstorm. Buchanan follows, hoping to kill the monster before he reaches a city and kills again.

Eventually the monster is cornered in a cave filled with computers and machines. When Buchanan enters the cave, the machines chirp to life and a voice says "Welcome back, Dr. Buchanan". The monster tells Buchanan that the cave is the central brain for the nearby city, the last one remaining as the world was devastated by Buchanan's "ultimate weapon". Buchanan engages some security devices and the monster is burned to death by lasers. Buchanan leaves the cave and makes his way to the nearby city through the snow.

As he walks, the monster's voice is heard saying that he cannot truly be killed, for now he is "unbound."

Locations

This feature was filmed in Italy [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099612/locations]

External links

*imdb title|id=0099612|title=Frankenstein Unbound