Rating: D+
Dir: Paul McGuigan
Star: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott
This is a film whose existence somehow managed to bypass me entirely. Mind you, it appeared to bypass just about everybody. On its release in November 2015, it came out on 2,797 screens and subsequently grossed a total of less than $5.8 million. That made it one of the worst performing wide releases in the pre-pandemic era. While box-office is not an accurate barometer of quality… yeah, in this case it is. It feels as if someone perhaps watched I, Frankenstein, took copious notes on how it went wrong, and then followed that as a template for their own slice of mad science. Except the famed creature here only shows up right at the end. He might as well be Victor Frankincense.
Any similarity to Mary Shelley’s book feels mostly coincidental. It seems to take place around half a century late, in Victorian London, and Igor (Radcliffe) is a very smart hunchback working in a circus. His skills impress Victor (McAvoy), who rescues him and discovers the ailment is just an abscess. [How did Victor know that? Because he had a hunch! Thank you, I’ll be here all week. And, trust me, that joke is probably at least as entertaining as anything the film can offer] The newly-upright Igor – a name not found either in the book or James Whale’s version – becomes Vic’s assistant. They then explore the boundaries of modern science, albeit in a fashion best described as lacklustre.
By which I mean, there’s a rogue chimpanzee-like thing. But Igor is more intent on winning the affections of former circus colleague Lorelei (Findlay) and Victor has got unresolved daddy issues, being blamed for the death of his brother by their father. Neither of these elements were in the book either, and I’d be very hard-pushed to call the addition of them any improvement. The only particular dramatic tension is the presence of a religious cop, Inspector Roderick Turpin (Scott), who feels strongly that Framkenstein is messing with things he shouldn’t. Turpin can’t find the evidence to stop him, though won’t let that interfere with his zealous crusade. I think there likely was a point here, though I’m not certain exactly what it was.