Frankenstein '80

Although the film has a Dr. Frankenstein and a Monster it's nothing like Universal or Hammer horror Frankenstein films (and I didn't expect it to be). It's watchable trash. Not a good film at all - horrible really.

This version of "The Monster" is really more of a zombie than Frankenstein's Monster. He's a horny killer - a rapist and murderer. It's really a tacky "Monster" film and it's crappy they used the name Frankenstein in association with this film... they could have easily named Dr. Frankenstein something else and the movie would have been the exact same. They used the name Frankenstein to get viewers I'm afraid.

The beginning of the film was the best part I think and it went downhill from there. It's watchable in it's way but nothing to brag about.

3/10

After years of work, Professor Schwarz (Roberto Fizz) has perfected his life-saving transplant serum. He keeps a bottle of the priceless serum, known cryptically as "The Schwarz Serum", in the staff fridge. Shockingly, the concoction is stolen within minutes!

Meanwhile, the world's ugliest man (Xiro Papas) is murdering women and removing their vital organs. The police are baffled.

FRANKENSTEIN '80 is a preposterous Italian horror film. Apparently made for no other reason than to show various bloody organ removals, the testicle transplant is a "highlight".

WARNING: Contains violent liver theft, nudity, garbled monster chatter, nudity, and icky monster love!

Highly recommended for those who seek to watch every movie ever made with the name Frankenstein in the title. All others may want to look elsewhere...

In 1818 when Mary Shelley wrote the supernatural tale that would go on to make her famous forever, it's difficult to imagine that she could ever have conceived that over 150 years later, her novel Frankenstein would be reinterpreted as a detective story about a sex-crazed rapist monster. Well, seeing as this version of the tale was made in Italy in the early 70's that's exactly what happened. Frankenstein '80 is one of the cycle of erotic Frankenstein movies made in Europe at the time. But this one also adds in a serial killer detective element which sort of ties it in with the giallo and poliziotteschi films that were very popular in Italy at the time. So it's a strange hybrid of specific sub-genres.

It's certainly a very trashy film. The dubbing is particularly deranged, while the film overall has a pretty cheap aesthetic. However, it's a gore and sleaze horror film at the end of the day and really has to be judged on these merits. And to be fair, Frankenstein '80 has plenty of both of those criteria; usually at the same time. The story is ludicrous of course. But I suspect very few of you will be watching this for its complexity or depth. It's more or less a slasher movie with Frankenstein's monster as the killer.

Not great but good mindless fun.

Trashy, sleazy, campy, exploitative and – of course – extremely pointless Italian version of the classic Frankenstein story. It's a variation on the traditional Mary Shelley tale, with some deranged additional ideas and awkward erotic undertones. The Italians tried to achieve this sort of concept before already with "Lady Frankenstein" and admittedly that was a much better and more memorable film than this cheap and amateurish attempt at making a motion picture. But still, that doesn't mean this piece of junk isn't good entertainment. The plot actually isn't too bad. Dr. Schwarz (which, I'm sure, is German slang for Dr. Penis) just invented a breakthrough serum that prevents donor organs from getting rejected by the patient's body after a transplant. This happens to be exactly what his vicious colleague Dr. Frankenstein needs in order to fix up his pet monster Mosaic. The serum disappears from Dr. Schwarz' laboratory and corpses start to pile up as Mosaic goes out on nightly strolls. The local police commissioner forbids his men to smoke until the case is solved (!) and another guy – a reporter who assigns himself private investigator – search for the serum to save his dying sister. "Frankenstein 80" is a hilariously amusing film, but probably not like its creators intended it. Ferdinando De Leone (although I suspect it was actually Fernando Di Leo; a prominent name in the Italian horror industry) and director Mario Mancini penned down a truly ludicrous script with the most one-dimensional character imaginable, absurd plot twists and the utmost imbecilic dialogs ever. Technically speaking, this is a laughably inept production as well. More than three quarters of the film is poorly lit, the make-up effects clearly cost less than a dollar and the editing appeared to have been done with a blending machine. The pacing is unspeakably uneven! The entire story is pretty much told after an hour already, but then still comes a lot of tedious filler-footage, like an overlong and dull striptease act, a full formula one race and even the complete development of a romance. The monster stumbles around until he literally passes his due date, which is interesting but not very thrilling.

What a bunch of hooey! There are so many plot holes that one could write a book. I loved that there was big bottle in the refrigerator with the secret serum used to help in transplant surgeries. Then there is some of the worst acting that can be imagined. The characters deliver their lines and wait a half second for the next person to respond. Did anyone notice that the doctor's name was Frankenstein? There is lots of gratuitous sex and violence. It gets pretty bad. I guess old Dr. F. should have left one part out of the mix. The monster is quite formidable, I can give you that.

Two of the strangest parts are the police and the the hero. The police are a bunch of idiots who are more concerned that they can't smoke until the case is closed. The guy who plays the lead is spookier than the monster. He has that real 80's look and wears a funny little hat when he is out and about. This has a few moments of violence that keep one interested, but beyond that, it's just not very good.