Director: Larry Fessenden
Year: 2019
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Following a series of strange encounters, a man comes to the realization that his scarred memory and fractured upbringing were the result of his having been created through the experiments of a mad doctor trying to cope with the issues of the world, and must come to terms with his truth.
Review:
Overall, this was a fairly intriguing if ultimately flawed genre adaptation. One of the more likable factors here comes from the admittedly likable take on the story that manages to bring about a slightly original take that’s perfectly suited to more modern sensibilities. The initial idea of the man’s creation through the series of medical experiments and touches that are full-scale employed from the original story that manages to work nicely in the middle of a modern city where he ends up becoming aware of his past and tries to come to terms with his state of existence with the help of those around him manages to offer up some rather solid elements here. This offers up the kind of more modern touches, from the various maladies and afflictions that plague the doctor and his past, the kind of interactions that are taking place in the middle of a modern city rather than an old-school setup, and the manner in which it all gets brought together with the temptation to turn the creature into a living monstrosity offers up the kind of straightforward mixture of the two styles that's quite fun to see play out at times.
There are some big issues here that keep this one down. The most egregious of these is the absolutely sluggish pacing that renders just about anything nearly impossible to get behind. So little happens here that its tone and presentation come across more as a low-rent indie drama about a man coming to a massive city and trying to adjust to living in modern society, which is all decent enough as a concept, but leaves this with such a lack of action that it’s easy to grow bored with this one. Watching this pair of bland, dull figures trying to navigate a city and becoming continuously corrupted by various vices in society to the point of instigating the deranged activity he’s known for isn’t all that interesting. Worse, with this all taking up the majority of a bloated, egregiously and unnecessarily overlong running time, it just drags the film to a halt more than anything else. As well, the low budget throughout here is pretty obvious, being another factor bringing it down.
Overview: **.5/5
A rather novel if flawed take on the genre, this one works much better as a fan of the style more than anything else, as this is a fairly straightforward, one-note type of feature without much to change that. This is solely for those who appreciate this type of unconventional approach to the genre, while more traditionally-minded viewers who are turned off by the flaws will want to heed extreme caution.
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