House of Frankenstein (1997)

I do not shy away from fierce vampires like the ones in 30 days of night etc., but for a change it is nice to have some harmless fun with the classic monsters, so I enjoyed the movie a lot. It ain't too often that movies combine two or even three monster types (rather common nowadays in TV shows), and since I like them all, I do -once in a while- enjoy such gatherings. As Salinger wrote in The catcher in the rye: there is a time and a place for everything, so instead of bashing the fun young girls (and others) have when watching Twilight, people should be more tolerant for such HARMLESS fun, nobody is being harmed when people enjoy harmless monsters, it does not have to be the most perverse torture and blood spilling all the time. There is enough torture porn out there and these movies are quite high up in the blockbuster charts as well, so you Eli Roth-/...-fans go watch these and have young girls and other people enjoy the other kind of "scary" fun. Back to this movie: I wrote such a long intro because I think that this movie has a lot of good stuff (good actors, the obligatory police action, satisfying monster make-up/FX) so I cannot imagine why all the negative reviews, I can only imagine it is too harmless for the bashers, but they can choose other stuff instead. There is a time and movie for everybody. Go and enjoy.

I must say that I have to disagree with the reviewer from England, no disrespect, but this show is far from being bad. I just don't think I view some of the shows, both on the T.V. and at the movies, the way some reviewers do. I don't look at camera angles, lighting, location, and all the other items that a more professional viewer might look at. All I want to know is it entertaining and does it have one or more people in it that I like. This show has it all. Adrian Pasdar (Near Dark-1987) is the police officer trying to solve a few murders, which I will not go into as it might contain a spoiler or two. Teri Polo (Focker movies 2004 & 2010) is a favorite of mine, even though I refused to watch the Focker movies. CCH Pounder (WareHouse-13) and Jorja Fox (CSI) are all in here as well. Nicole Nagel played a vampire bartender, but sadly, according to IMDb has not done anything since 2007. I must say I thought this show had the coolest vampire I have ever seen. I thought the show had enough action and moved along well enough to keep one in his or her seat. It is hard to review this without giving away too much, but I will say if it ever comes back to T.V. and you get a chance, give it a shot. As for me, well, I keep hoping it will show up on DVD one of these days.

While the sum of this admittedly comes out to about average, it is not without aspects worth noting. I haven't seen the original classics based on the books, nor the film called the same as this. A pretty good job is done of basing the characters on the novels, from what I know of them. The three creatures/types get a fairly decent amount of screen-time as well as development each. Some of the design is interesting, though there are definitely also areas of it where they cut corners. Lighting isn't bad. The effects vary, but some are well-done, remarkably so in several cases. I'm not sure if there are multiple versions of this, but for me, it lasted about two hours and forty minutes sans commercials, so about an hour and twenty per part. There is relatively well-done suspense in this. There is a lot of cheese and corn herein, as well, but hey, they can both be found in a nutritious meal, and some insist on some of either or both in their diet. The humor certainly has its moments, and it's mostly natural, seldom forced. The script is hit and miss, and it may break a rule or more. It does a reasonable job of updating the myths and such. The plot is fine. The pacing is, as well. The acting is a mixed bag. The cinematography and editing feature some inspired bits. This is genuinely scary at times. There is moderate violence and gore, but I didn't hear any language. I recommend this to fans of horror, and those into the monsters. Just be aware of what to expect. 5/10

What can you say about a production where the astute hero cop finally realizes his girlfriend is a werewolf when he catches her chasing rodents through the woods in her nightdress?This film is hysterically funny, unfortunately I don't think this was the director's intention.