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Released by: Image Entertainment
Released on: March 26, 2013.
Director: Andrew Weiner
Cast: Kris Lemche, Joe Egender, Timothy V. Murphy, Eric Zuckerman
Year: 2013
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The Movie:
Andrew Weiner's 2013 move The Frankenstein Theory puts forth the notion that Mary Shelley's classic novel of horror was actually based on true events. Kind of a cool idea, right? The Frankenstein Monster really did exist and not only that, but he's still out there, roaming around in the upper most parts of the world doing his thing and answering to no one.
Enter Professor John Venkenheim, a university teacher recently let go from his position primarily because of his strange scientific beliefs and practices. In order to save his reputation and set the story right he gathers together a small film crew and heads north to the Arctic Circle to validate what he knows to be true. Venkenheim, if you hadn't gathered, is the one convinced that the monster really was created and is still alive, something that somewhat understandably doesn't sit so well with the higher ups at the school he was employed at.
Well as the crew goes about their business and start looking for evidence, it turns out that Venkenheim might not be so crazy after all. As they explore the area that Venkenheim is sure the monster populates, they hear spooky noises and eventually find a ramshackle hut of sorts - who could live there? What could they be doing? Well, to be honest, you can probably figure all of that out on your own, at least if you've seen The Blair Witch Project. Because that's what this movie is, basically - a remake of The Blair Witch Project which borrows from that goofy Animal Planet TV show, Hunting Bigfoot, right down to the night vision scenes in the finale.
Slow, overly talky to the point where boredom sets in, and highly derivative it's hard to get too excited about this movie, but again, we come back to that admittedly super cool premise and want it to get better. Lots of talk, very little tension and almost nothing in the way of an actual monster for ninety-nine percent of the movie, there's really not much at all that we haven't seen here before: the car that won't start, the guide that gets lots, the equipment malfunctions, the team member that goes off alone to find help and the finale where one character winds up having to confront the reality of the situation alone to predictably 'scary' results.
The whole thing is so by the numbers that it's hard to get excited about this, particularly when the movie starts using what is obviously an original score of some sort in an attempt to build tension - a decision that pretty much takes anyone even remotely paying attention and trying to suspend their disbelief and buy into the premise right out of the movie. At least it does a nice job with some of the location photography…
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer makes the movie look like the handheld found footage deal that it pretends to be, so on that level it works just fine. Once the night vision kicks in toward the end, it looks like... night vision so obviously you have to keep that in mind. This isn't the type of movie that should look really calculated and glossy, it should look a bit rough around the edges so by that accord, the movie looks fine on DVD.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix on the disc is fine. There are a few spots where in keeping with the found footage aesthetic the levels jump a bit but otherwise things sound good. Dialogue is easy to follow, no issues with serious hiss or distortion - this works. No alternate language options are provided but English closed captioning is there for those who want it.
There are no extras here outside of a menu and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
A serious case of an awesome premise and idea being completely destroyed in execution, The Frankenstein Theory should have been great. Instead, it's dull, slow and somehow thoroughly uninteresting.
