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Frankenstein Unbound

Play trailer Poster for Frankenstein Unbound R 1990 1h 26m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
53% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 33% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Particle physicist Dr. Joe Buchanan (John Hurt) builds a device capable of vaporizing anything it touches, in hopes of ending war once and for all. Unfortunately, when he is testing the prototype, the device accidentally sends Buchanan hurtling backwards in time to a small Swiss village in the year 1817. There he meets kindred spirit Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Raul Julia), who is hard at work contending with the complications of his own misguided experiment.

Critics Reviews

View All (17) Critics Reviews
Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: B Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Entertainment Weekly Rated: B Nov 2, 1990 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …posits a fictional past where both the writer and her creation co-exist, a somewhat radical post-modern concept… Rated: 3/5 Nov 30, 2023 Full Review Stefan Birgir Stefans sbs.is It’s a very interesting blend of being the most faithful adaptation of Frankenstein, and the most batshit insane one. Rated: 3/5 Oct 14, 2023 Full Review Christopher Null Filmcritic.com Rated: 2/5 Jul 13, 2006 Full Review Kevin Carr 7M Pictures about what you'd expect from Roger Corman... without the boobs Rated: 2/5 Sep 7, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Joel H I’m not quite sure they were thinking when they decided to create Frankenstein Unbound. Yes, it’s a Roger Corman flick, so I wasn’t expecting much, but it is just so bizarre. Why tell the story of a time traveler from the future seeing the story of Frankenstein unfold? Why have Mary Shelley be the author of Frankenstein in the movie if the events are actually happening? Why did Frankenstein’s Monster look like the Creeper from Jeepers Creepers? Why did so many recognizable actors sign on to be in this mess? With a story this preposterous, Frankenstein Unbound was doomed to fail from its creation. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/11/24 Full Review Steve D The dumb twists to the story don't work at all. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Three Brian Aldis novels have been made into movies. Brothers of the Head, AI (yes, the Kubrick started and Spielberg ended movie) and this one, which was the first movie that Roger Corman had directed for two decades. This is probably the best cast that Corman ever had, with John Hurt as the future scientist, Raul Julia as Dr. Frankenstein, Bridget Fonda as Mary Shelley, INXS singer Michael Hutchence as Percy Shelley, Nick Brimble as Frankenstein's Monster and Jason Patric as Lord Byron. So it stands to reason that he should make a movie where a man goes back in time — thanks to a military weapon and a computer car — to the time of the Shelleys and the real monster. Or monsters. This is also the last movie Corman directed. It's also the only movie where a future man faxes Mary Shelley her novel that she's written before she writes it. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review robert p A fairly good tale of Frankenstein and a future observer!!! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member In the near future a team of high-end weapons researchers accidentally open a timewarp which sends the lead scientist along with his talking car to early 19th C. Switzerland. There, he meets Dr. Viktor Frankenstein played by Raul Julia (Addams Family, Street Fighter) and Mary Shelley, played by Bridget Fonda (Lake Placid, Single White Female). Directed by Roger Corman (Creature from the Haunted Sea, The Little Shop of Horrors), his first since the 1960s, this was a rather unique take on the Frankenstein story which also stars Jason Patric (The Lost Boys) and Michael Hutchence (INXS). Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member The acting is good the makeup for Frankenstein is bad. To gruesome other then that I like it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Frankenstein Unbound

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Immortal (Ad Vitam) 29% 54% Immortal (Ad Vitam) Watchlist H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds 60% 40% H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds Watchlist Teknolust 30% 41% Teknolust Watchlist XChange 0% 29% XChange Watchlist Fortress 2: Re-Entry 0% 21% Fortress 2: Re-Entry Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Particle physicist Dr. Joe Buchanan (John Hurt) builds a device capable of vaporizing anything it touches, in hopes of ending war once and for all. Unfortunately, when he is testing the prototype, the device accidentally sends Buchanan hurtling backwards in time to a small Swiss village in the year 1817. There he meets kindred spirit Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Raul Julia), who is hard at work contending with the complications of his own misguided experiment.
Director
Roger Corman
Producer
Roger Corman, Thom Mount, Kobi Jaeger
Screenwriter
Roger Corman, F.X. Feeney
Rating
R
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Sep 5, 2006
Box Office (Gross USA)
$37.0K
Runtime
1h 26m
Sound Mix
Surround