Review of Frankenstein's Army (2013) by Quincytheodore — 03 Feb 2015

I must admit, the concept of World War II found footage film, although slightly absurd, makes for an interesting back story. The execution, however, is downright preposterous. Visual looks intentionally grainy, and while this may represent the antique vibe, it's not very pleasing to witness. Plot and characters are corny, quite predictably so since a mesh of mockumentary set in war time and the namesake Frankenstein doesn't ensure gritty realism. However, as it gains momentum, the movie manages to grab my attention with some truly bizarre gory scenes.

Story follows a team of Russian recon as they ventures to a desolated village where, as the name suggests, an enigmatic army is being assembled. Unbeknownst to them, Nazi isn't the main threat to their earthly continuity as odd occurrences and clues are found along the village. The very movie itself oozes B-movie air, the old filter is a poor excuse for the muddy graphic. The main disbelief is the cast as these so-called soldiers, they lack fundamental discipline and seems to be in much disarray to be a reconnaissance team in the first place.

Costumes of the titular army are completely strange. Perhaps it tries to display a creature so close to be human but still not nearly enough to be viewed as one, but they come off like the rejects from circus or modern art gallery. One even has fan for head, at least that's a point scored for authenticity. With everything is done by CG, these real life looking monster uses their odd nature as strength. Even though there isn't much characterization or convincing plot, the latter arc is still interesting. Tension rises significantly as they face their fate and some mysteries are deciphered.

The use of gore is silly, excessively so. They applied generous amount of fake limbs and blood to various scenes. This approach is a bit shameless, but surprisingly competent later on. Its reliance of heavy gore and many plot holes throughout the movie makes it just barely a watchable horror flick. Addition of the found footage gimmick, while it has some perks, but ultimately it's not compelling enough to add anything new.

Thanks to its more vivid third act, Frankenstein's Army is a barely decent horror film.