5.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
After a failed attempt to propose to his girlfriend, Alan Jones is beaten within an inch of his life by a street gang. Transported to the mysterious lab of Dr. Tanner Finski and his kid genius assistant Igor, Alan becomes the subject in a series of horrible experiments as part of the doctor's plan to reanimate the legendary Frankenstein monster. But all bets are off when these experiments lead to a hole being ripped in space and time, pulling an army's worth of the infamous creatures from hundreds of parallel universes and sending them all back to the 19th century – directly into the heart of a bloody battle between the North and South!
Starring: Jordan Farris, Eric Gesecus, John Ferguson, Rett Terrell, Christian BellgardtHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
We may have the inimitable Phil Hartman to thank for the supposed “memory” of the Frankenstein monster proclaiming “Fire bad!”, though a cursory reacquaintance with the famous “hermit” scene in Bride of Frankenstein shows that Karloff’s iconic creature actually says “Fire no good.” A rose by any other name, as they say, for whether you call it “bad” or “no good,” Army of Frankensteins is a pretty haphazard mash up, one of those “newfangled” genre casseroles that are in fact kind of like Frankenstein’s monster himself (itself?), sewn together from seemingly disparate elements in an attempt to create an interesting hybrid.
Army of Frankensteins is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The image is generally very sharp and well detailed, though director Ryan Bellgardt and cinematographer Josh McKamie employ occasional bells and whistles like "POV" shots that are intentionally smeary and soft looking (see screenshot 2). In bright outdoor environments the palette looks appealingly natural, and the image is suitably crisp and detailed. Nighttime sequences don't fare quite as well, with some murky shadow detail and occasional minor but noticeable compression issues.
Army of Frankensteins features a serviceable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which provides occasional immersion courtesy of discretely placed sound effects (most noticeable in some of the battle scenes), but which is overall rather front heavy. Prioritization is occasionally slightly less than optimal, with dialogue sometimes being overwhelmed by busy sound design choices. Fidelity is fine and dynamic range fairly wide.
The Frankenstein monster(s), if not the devil himself, is in the details, and Army of Frankensteins simply can't overcome some pretty clunky writing and not quite ready for prime time performances. The film is often surprisingly scenic, and some of the special effects and makeup work is reasonably effective. Technical merits are generally fine for those considering a purchase.
Warner Archive Collection
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1972
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