Spawn Of Frankenstein

Review by zeppelinrox — May 1, 2010 @ 8:06 pm

I forgot to rank this.
I enjoyed this and when I rate fanedits, I rate them based on enjoyment.
I’m not really anal when it comes to musical choices or DVD menus so I gave it an 8/10.

Review by DwightFry78 — May 1, 2010 @ 7:01 pm

Given my moniker, I of course had to check this out! :-P As Bride of Frankenstein is my fave of both movies, I don’t think this new version improves over the originals, but it’s nonetheless a fine alternate take. Things I particularly liked: the new twist on the Maria sequence (exemplifying “less is more” to perfection, in fact I’ve always preferred the old truncated home video version of the sequence than the restored one), the otherwordly brownish tint, the new darker ending which is probably what Whale’s original cut looked like (while it could have been a bit tighter edited, a couple of shots scream for shortening), and particularly ALMOST NO UNA O’CONNOR who very nearly ruined Bride for me, despite preferring it to the original overall. BTW, Una DID totally ruin The Invisible Man for me. Maybe I’ll get to work on that some day.

What I didn’t like as much: It sometimes tends to forget it’s a classic, via some dissolves that scream “digital editing software” thus come across as awkward, and the too modern feel of the new credits (the lettering in green for a B&W movie, but also the overall flow of it), the use of the current Universal logo, Karloff second-billed after Colin Clive (!)… yet keeping the end credits cast list card for Bride instead of creating a new one. Now half of the credited performers are not in the movie, and half of the performers in the movie are not credited. As for the score for the first half, it’s both too recognizable and too modern-sounding. No way it could pass for something released in the 1930s. Also I must say that the blind hermit sequence is a favorite, but for the purposes of this cut it definitely had to go. The new retooling of Pretorius as the responsible for the Monster’s talking ability works fine IMHO.

However, while this comes close to resemble a movie and not two glued together, some problems keep it from succeeding, and I don’t mean the two Elizabeths. I think that the Monster-stalking-Elizabeth scene from the first film should go because it becomes repetitive in relation to the second part, and Dr. Frankenstein’s line “It’s alive! It’s alive!” referred to the Bride should go for the same reason. These things work in separate films, in the same one they become redundant. Also, the windmill sequence needs to be shortened, despite it being so good. As a matter of fact, BECAUSE it is so good. It looks like what it is: a movie climax. It needs to be turned into a middle point.

All in all, a solid, worthwhile fanedit. 7/10 overall.

Review by searcher — December 30, 2008 @ 9:37 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by Matt_Jensen — April 12, 2010 @ 4:24 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by Rock Savage — December 27, 2008 @ 6:15 pm

Spawn Of Frankenstein – Remixed by Jorge

Unfortunately, after much anticipation this FanEdit simply failed to work for me on any level.

Contains Spoilers!!!!

First, the opening credits are completely out of keeping with the feel of the original source material. Bright green text over a sepia montage just feels odd and plainly wrong…. And why the need for the axing and mutilation of a cow's head? What does that have to do with the creation of a monster or any of the themes presented in Frankenstein? To me this felt gratuitous in the extreme and totally out of keeping.

Also the music was poorly selected and integrated. Mostly it consists of music cues that are obviously from a more modern era and so they feel far too clean when compared with the later Franz Waxman score that dominates Bride Of Frankenstein in the second half. These new cues are also too low in the mix when compared with the later original score and no effort has been made to distress them. I think sticking to the same composer’s works or at least the same era would have helped with over-all continuity of the FanEdit.

The sepia look of the film works well but I did notice quite a lot of inter-lacing particularly in the action scenes or with fast movement.

The new editing during the creation of the Monster during the electrical storm was done very well but feels too frenetic and MTV when compared with the pace of the editing that proceeded it. Less rapid cutting would have again helped with an over-all continuity of the FanEdit.

Another concern was that the FanEdit appeared to be flipped horizontally. With my DVD’s of the originals the action takes place in the opposite direction. I am not sure if this was done purposely by the FanEditor or is a fault of different DVD versions but it feels like looking at a photograph of a loved one but seeing that familiar mole on wrong cheek.

I can tell a lot of work went into this FanEdit and I am sure that some will enjoy the anachronistic update but it utterly failed for me. It is distracting, awkward and disappointing almost on every level. I will stick with the originals and all their raw naivety.

The DVD is well presented visually but I was put off by the cheesy 80′s type rock music selected for the opening menu. A total misfire for creating any atmosphere for the feature FanEdit that follows. The scene selection menu looks unfinished.

Entertainment 2 – Editing 2 – Audio 1 – DVD Presentation – 1

1/5