Release Date: September 10
Starring: Joshua Sasse, Luke Newberry, Robert Gwilym, Hon Ping Tang, Alexander Mercury, Andrei Zayats, Mark Stevenson, and Karel Roden
Written by: Chris W. Mitchell and Miguel Tejada-Flores, Story by: Richard Raaphorst and Miguel Tejada-Flores
Directed by: Richard Raaphorst
Synopsis: In the dying days of World War II, a battalion of Russian soldiers find themselves lost in enemy territory in eastern Germany. One soldier (Alexander Mercury, The Golden Compass) has been ordered to make a propaganda film as the squadron makes its way across the wintry landscape, and what follows is a thrilling mix of found-footage shocks and classic horror. Stumbling upon a village decimated by an unseen terror, the Russians are lured into the secret lab of deranged scientist Viktor (Hellboy's Karel Roden). Viktor has unearthed the journals of the legendary Dr. Victor Frankenstein and has used them to assemble an army of supersoldiers stitched together from the body parts of fallen Germans - a desperate Hitler's last ghastly ploy to escape defeat.
Leaderless and faced with dissension in their dwindling ranks, the Russians must find the courage to face down this fearsome new brigade of flesh-and-metal "zombots" - or die trying. A nightmarish fantasy thrill ride unlike any other, Richard Raaphorst's FRANKENSTEIN'S ARMY, which was filmed at abandoned World War II sites in Prague and throughout Europe, is a delirious plunge into the darkest depths of insanity.
A World War II found footage horror film is not exactly something that would spring easily to mind nor is the thought that it could be pulled off as well as it has been with Frankenstein's Army. The story is simple really. A group of soldiers stumble upon a factory where a mad scientist type is creating grotesque super soldiers from dead solders.
There you know the plot. Let me run through the rest of this quickly, the acting is great, the story is fun the cinematography is inspired, especially the use of the first person perspective which is utilized rather uniquely. The movie has some great twists and turns you might not anticipate and some really great shock scenes.
What truly stands out here is the outstanding creature work. The imagination and talent on display here is nothing short of inspiring. Not too take away from the film as a whole, which is great, but the creature designs are wonderful. They're clever and scary.
I mentioned this on twitter that the guys behind this movie need to be given the reins to Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Bioshock ASAP. I have no doubt they'd make the best entries into each of these franchises (and kick of Bioshock probably perfectly).
Raaphorst and company have crafted a helluva fun movie here and they've set a signal fire showing what they are capable of. I have really high hopes for these guys and what they come up with next. I'll admit I was skeptical when I saw the table but I enjoyed every minute of it and when the Zombot action figures come out, I'll be first in line to get them. I'm confident in saying that Frankenstein's Army is one of the best horror films of the year. It's an extremely satisfying, extremely fun flick well worth you spending an evening watching. Pick it up and enjoy! (PS right as of this writing it's $10.96 at amazon for preorder.) Another win for Dark Sky Films!
9 out of 10 Zombots
Available now on DVD/Blu-ray
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