Review of Victor Frankenstein (2015) by Tom M — 10 Oct 2016

Victor Frankenstein is about the fiftieth interpretation of the classic Mary Shelley story to hit the big-screen, though this version has a slight twist; the events are told through the perspective of Igor and while it's interesting for the first half, the film really loses its way after that.

The story follows Igor, a learned circus clown, who after being mistreated by his masters, is rescued by Victor Frankenstein to serve as his assistant and the two begin conducting increasingly dangerous experiments together.

The film stars Daniel Radcliffe and James MacAvoy as Igor and Frankenstein respectively, and their rapport is easily the highlight of the film. The script is written by the incredibly quirky, Max Landis and features his usual talents at putting a spin on a well-worn genre, but the film becomes all too conventional in the final act and makes some truly bizarre choices.

A subplot involving an overly religious detective who doesn't agree with Frankenstein's methods becomes a focal point and it stops being a fun romp, and switches tone drastically with big action sequences and would-be villains turning up out of nowhere.

The climax is so overblown and out of touch with what previously came before, that it feels like an after-thought and ends the film with a dud. It's a unique take on the Frankenstein story, and the choice to make Igor an intelligent and charismatic lead was a fun spin, but the story is ultimately too bland to be memorable and the film ends up merely being a blip on the radar.