Fans of the classic cult 1980s film THE MONSTER SQUAD will certainly (and naturally) want to check out star Andre Gower’s recent film BABY FRANKENSTEIN, which taps into an all-time favourite monster. Whether or not it will appease his core following of fans, Boris Karloff, James Whale or Mary Shelley remains to be seen.
It is Halloween. A family moves into a suburban Boston neighbourhood. One of the sons, Lance (Ian Barling) , discovers a padlock on a door leading to the attic and curiosity naturally gets the better of him. In the attic, he discovers a music box sound coming from underneath a sheet, which he removes to reveal what appears to be a vertically-challenged baby-like figure looking like the Frankenstein Monster’s grandson. When Lance taps it, it opens its’ eyes.
Lance makes friends with neighbour Truth (Cora Savage) and when he brings her back to the attic, the mysterious figure has disappeared, only to find it in the garden sneaking around the foliage fascinated. However, Agent Lundquist (Gower) is on the case when he finds out that the figure, which is in fact a billion-dollar prototype, has been activated because of Lance – and is offering a $50,000 reward for its’ return. Trouble is, Lance and Truth have taken a liking to it and want to keep it…..
Originally filmed in 2018, BABY FRANKENSTEIN is a curious mix of E.T. meets SHORT CIRCUIT and the Shelley elements, but doesn’t quite gain the level of charm that the Spielberg blockbuster or 1986 John Badham film did with Number 5. Part of the issue with this film is that there is not enough focus on the title character and his own journey into the world as he discovers what life is about.
In E.T. it was about Elliott’s desire to keep the alien whilst government agents pursue it for their own ends. In SHORT CIRCUIT for example, part of the joy was watching the interaction and reaction Number 5 has with Ally Sheedy’s Stephanie Speck character and proclaiming that ‘Life is not a malfunction’ (the logline on the poster)
We are made aware that this figure is significant at the outset when Lance discovers some newspaper cuttings in the attic, yet we don’t know how significant until the very end of the film. A subplot involving family dysfunction and a bullying stepfather seems a little out of place here, when in fact the film has more than enough complications from this little title figure making his mark on the neighbourhood – and that should be where the fun and thrills should come, particularly on Halloween.
It’s also difficult to know where the appeal and market of the film is, as it is neither a family-aimed film or one of the cult or horror crowd, even though on balance this belongs in the cult arena. Gower is a positive marketing ploy, but he is underused in the film despite being very watchable when he is on screen.
The title whets the appetite and naturally promises shocks and thrills, but sadly there isn’t much here to elevate it to an ingenious reimaging of an often-told classic book. It is a real shame this is the way it is, as there is so much more the film-makers could have done with this and if they had got the balance right with all the elements, including the subplot mentioned, it could well have been a more well-rounded and successful movie.
That is not to say BABY FRANKENSTEIN is totally unwatchable, merely one that audiences deserve more from – and a lost opportunity.
