Review: Frankenstein’s Army brings man-made monsters to life

Richard Raaphorst’s Frankenstein’s Army is a found-footage creature feature that brings nightmares to life with its wicked man-made monsters. It’s the perfect midnight movie full of blood and guts with a dash of humor. The film takes place towards the end of World War II where a squad of Russian soldiers stumble across a secret Nazi lab, one that has unearthed and begun experimenting with the journal of one Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The scientists have used the legendary Frankenstein’s work to assemble an army of super-soldiers stitched together from the body parts of their fallen comrades – a desperate Hitler’s last ghastly ploy to escape defeat.

First and foremost, we came here to see the monsters that make up Frankenstein’s Army, and that’s exactly what we get. The creations in this flick are cool as hell, each with a completely different design fully equipped with the right tools to do plenty of dismembering. Practical effects can go a long way in the horror genre, especially if done right, and that’s exactly where this film shines the brightest. If you’re an old school horror fan then you will no doubt find a lot to love about Raaphorst’s latest creation. He takes the found-footage genre and blends it with his own take on a Gothic horror tale. While the POV angle felt a bit awkward at times, it ultimately works for the film as your’re thrown into the dark halls of a secret Nazi lab with an army of monstrosities around every corner.

If you go into Frankenstein’s Army to check out some amazing monsters then you’ll leave this one fully satisfied. However, the story is pretty thin to say the least as the movie hardly takes itself seriously - It’s much more interested in throwing one creature after another at you in a vicious onslaught of these things made out of human flesh and machines. The film’s only real downfall is its lack of characters that you actually care about. A couple of them you’ll simply hate, while others hardly even matter at all. You wont find yourself rooting for any of the characters, hell, you might instead end up rooting for the monsters to do as much damage as possible. Sometimes it’s fun to cheer for the bad guys though!

But again, if you go into this one looking to see some insane monsters, then you’re in good hands. It’s a fresh take on the Frankenstein tale that moves at a fast enough pace that you can forgive its minor slip ups. At the end of the day Frankenstein’s Army is a fun horror film that will have you on the edge of your seat to see what monster will crawl out of the dark next.