FRANKENSTEIN: LEGACY (2024)

New On Demand and digital download from 101 Films!
Directed by Paul Dudbridge.
Written by Paul Dudbridge, Jim Griffin.
Starring Juliet Aubrey, Michelle Ryan, Katie Sheridan, Matt Barber, Philip Martin Brown, Charles Dale, Phillip Philmar, Jonathan Hansler, Marc Danbury, Paul Mohan, Alexandra Afryea, Andrew McGillan, Sean Earl McPherson, Robert Dukes, Simon Pengelly, Tony Richardson, Paul Tonkin
Check out the trailer here!!

After Victor Frankenstein passes away on a schooner in the arctic, his diary falls into the hands of a swarthy sailor, who passes the notebook on and on until it reaches the hands of Millicent Browning (Juliet Aubrey) a rebellious scientist and noble wife of the bedridden Robert (Philip Martin Brown). Though she is attempting to conquer death as Frankenstein did before Robert passes away, Robert does indeed succumb to his ongoing illness after associates of P.T. Barnum visit his house and beat him relentlessly, looking for Frankenstein’s diary for display in his circus. Though Millicent’s son William (Matt Barber) and daughter Clara (Katie Sheridan) disapprove of her research, they discover Millicent has brought Robert’s body to life, but the curse of Frankenstein’s fight against death seem to have followed the diary as the monster that rises fails to resemble their fallen patriarch.

FRANKENSTEIN: LEGACY feels like the Mary Shelley’s tale through the lens of DOWNTON ABBEY. The production value of this period piece seem to be pretty strong, as everything looks and feels authentic from the era this story is supposed to take place in. So you’ve got horse and carriages, cobblestone streets, authentic dress—there really seems to be a lot of effort in making this look like a large scale production.

On top of that, the acting is top tier as well. I’ve spoken before about my tendency for a bias with British films as the accent makes everything feel elevated, proper, and well acted. So my shewd eye towards bad acting is not as keen here. Still, everyone seems convicted to their various roles. The script also is quite barbed as the lines these noble people speak to one another are cleverly phrased, even though it seems as if all of them loathe one another. In all ways, the interactions in FRANKENSTEIN: LEGACY feel like something one would find in an ongoing soap-opera, with much ire thrown around family members and their servants. Noticing this fork-tongued dialog, I found myself paying more attention to the lines than I usually do in hopes not to miss any especially dank zingers cloaked as pleasantries.

The story itself is where things get a little more mundane. For the most part, this is FRANKENSTEIN with different characters as the same mistakes that Victor Frankenstein made are done by Millicent. The monster is less than human, of course, and while there is a bit of a twist as Millicent brainstorms the problems she is experiencing with the monster, requiring her to continue to repair her monster with newer, fresher parts—it still is a pretty standard Frankenstein tale. While most Frankenstein stories are period pieces, FRANKENSTEIN: LEGACY highlights this aspect more than most, giving it an air of authenticity and a bit of distant haughty-ness to the characters. If you don’t mind the PBC period piece atmosphere and love the FRANKENSTEIN story as much as I do, I think you’ll find FRANKENSTEIN: LEGACY pretty entertaining.