I, Frankenstein

I, Frankenstein – After causing the death of his creator, a ferocious monster made from the remains of corpses is attacked by a band of demons but is rescued by two gargoyles keeping watch nearby. He is taken to their Queen, Lenore, who gives him the name Adam and invites him to join them in their fight against the demons. Wanting to walk his own path, Adam declines the offer. 200 years later, Adam comes across the demons again and finds out that they wish to recreate the process that created him. Now, with the two sides fighting, Adam is caught in the middle but, seeing the flaws in both sides, he has to decide what’s important to him before the demons destroy the gargoyles and all humankind.

I, Frankenstein (2014) – Director: Stuart Beattie

Rating: 12

Running Length: 92 mins

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski, Bill Nighy

Genre: Horror, Action

REVIEW: ‘I, FRANKENSTEIN

Based upon the graphic novel of the same name by Kevin Grevioux ‘I, Frankenstein’ follows Frankenstein’s monster as he lives in the 21^st century and battles against the prejudices of being manmade, as opposed to being created by God. Created by the Archangel Michael, the gargoyles are seemingly on the side of good but do not easily accept Adam and the evil plan of the demons stop Adam from wanting to associate with either side, however when the journal containing Dr Frankenstein’s scientific notes is found, Adam realises that he can no longer stay neutral.

Aaron Eckhart is perhaps the prettiest incarnation of Frankenstein’s monster that movie audiences have ever seen and gives a good but slightly bland performance. His is a creature that wants companionship but his appearance and lack of a soul make him lead a lonely life. There are plenty of good action scenes which keep the levels of excitement high but the plot itself becomes a little complicated and hard to follow. The plotline of the gargoyles in particular seems somehow unfinished, as if an extra scene is needed to give more explanation into their motivations.

The unnecessarily complicated plot spoils it somewhat but, if you’re looking for entertainment and some great action, ‘I, Frankenstein’ is a very enjoyable watch.

CONTENT: IS ‘I, FRANKENSTEIN’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Towards the beginning of the movie, Adam is surrounded by several demons who are holding vicious looking weapons. They have very sharp teeth and growl menacingly at him. The head of one the group, who looks like an ordinary man, is engulfed in flames then his head changes, giving him the appearance of a horned demon.

One character captures a demon and beats him badly then, in order to interrogate him, threatens to plunge his head into holy water. After reluctantly giving away the information, the demon’s head is pushed into the water. The camera shows this from behind; the demon struggles and screams while the water steams, fizzes and splashes. He is then pushed to the ground where his dead body bursts into flames.

Some of the demons meet rather brutal ends which are not shown fully on camera. For example, during a fight, one demon has their eyes pushed into their head but the camera cuts away immediately so no gore or suffering is seen. Later another demon has his throat slit with a key card. This happens very quickly and, before any blood leaves the wound, the demon turns to ash. Towards the end of the movie, a demon is slashed several times in the torso with a blade, the marks are shown on the skin but, instead of blood, the wounds are made of fire. This demon does not appear to suffer pain from these cuts.

One character receives a deep, bloody wound during a fight. The wound is then shown on camera as another begins to give them stitches. The shot is far enough away that, although the action of the stitching is shown on camera, the needle can’t properly be seen entering the skin so this is not too graphic. This shot lasts a few seconds and then changes to focus on the face of the character who is receiving the stitches and he winces in pain.

During the finale, one of the characters gets possessed by a demon. He is already being held up by the throat by another demon but when he is possessed, he cries out in pain and fiery jets of smoke pour into his eyes. There are several shots of this which last a few seconds each and could be quite distressing for young kids.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘I, FRANKENSTEIN’ FOR KIDS?

‘I, Frankenstein’ has its flaws and takes itself a bit too seriously but it is fun and watchable nonetheless. While there are plenty of exciting scenes, the action is mostly child-friendly, there is very little blood or gore and because of this, we feel that this movie should be appropriate for kids aged 7 and over.

• Violence: 3/5 (mostly within the action scenes, one incidental character has their neck broken on-screen by a demon, however this is not too graphic)
• Emotional Distress: 2/5 (there are a few deaths but few are particularly emotional. Two likeable characters are killed who the audience have begun to care about, this could be a little upsetting for kids but the deaths are not dwelt upon)
• Fear Factor: 2/5 (the demons are a bit scary. When he is angry, the main demon, Naberius, talks with a demonic voice and his eyes turn red. He is very menacing and could be quite frightening for kids)
• Sexual Content: 0/5
• Bad Language: 2/5 (one use of a moderate word as an exclamation)
• Dialogue: 0/5
• Other notes: Deals with themes of playing God, accepting what you do not agree with, fighting the forces of evil and being true to yourself.

Words by Laura Record

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