Review by Ben Bussey
Damn you, found footage. I told you last time, never again. Every time you show up uninvited in the wee small hours, you worm your way in with your seductive wiles, and somehow I keep letting you in just because, even though you’ve hurt me time and again, there’s a small part of me that believes you can change. So here you are again, and I’m feeling all lonely and vulnerable, in need of a little tenderness, and – dare I say it – a little creativity; but almost every time it’s the same self-centred, mean-spirited, not to mention lazy routine…
Ahem. Okay, I don’t think I need to push this metaphor any further; you get the point. Found footage has let us down so often that it’s hard to approach any new entry in the subgenre without expecting from the get-go to be disappointed. If we were to do the list of the shittiest horror films of the past fifteen years or so (more specifically, everything post-Blair Witch), I think it’s safe to assume a fair percentage of them would be found footage. I also think it’s safe to say, in all seriousness, that a fair percentage of those would come up high on any well-informed list of the absolute worst horror films ever made. Not that I’m going to name names, or anything…
Ah, but then there are those rare times when it works – and those can almost, almost be enough to make you forgive it all. Because when found footage is on form, it can be so damn good: [REC], Cloverfield, Troll Hunter, Chronicle…
And now, Frankenstein’s Army. A film that starts from the not necessarily promising position of being a period found footage film, recorded on what would be for the time a state-of-the-art camera with built-in microphone, chronicling a very special Russian mission in the late days of World War 2. Honestly, if you feel that in itself strains credibility, you’ll struggle with what’s to come once we get to the meat of the story; and more fool you…
Yep, time to chalk up a rare victory for the good guys. This is another of those rare found footage movies that absolutely gets it right. It doesn’t use the format as an excuse for technical incompetence, or general artistic lethargy. It doesn’t neglect to develop interesting concepts and three-dimensional characterisations, framed within a compelling narrative. It doesn’t shake the bloody camera constantly from beginning to end.
But, like many smart horror movies, Frankenstein’s Army misdirects you from the start. If you were to go in not knowing what the big central hook is – sadly unlikely, given the title and the ghoulish fiends pictured front and centre on the artwork – then I rather doubt you’d guess what was coming. What starts out as a genuinely gruelling and intense World War 2 drama eventually gives way to a great haunted house thrill ride, bursting with madcap monsters the likes of which wouldn’t look out of place in a 1970s episode of Doctor Who.
It’s thrilling, chilling and ghoulishly entertaining – but make no mistake, it’s also some serious, hardcore horror. That probably sounds like a bit of a contradiction in terms, but trust me, it isn’t. Director Richard Raaphorst and writer Chris W Mitchell have presented us with a story that absolutely acknowledges the misery, the inhumanity and the very real horror of war, yet they’ve also found room to honour the traditions of the creature feature. The result is truly one of the most unique and beautifully bizarre Nazi horror films to have been produced in an era not exactly short on bizarre Nazi horror films (Outpost, Dead Snow, Iron Sky etc).
Karel Roden – I get the feeling this could be his Captain Spaulding, the role that crops up relatively late in an already illustrious career but winds up defining him from here on in. For English-speaking audiences, at least, we’ve never seen him well and truly at the centre of a film in this way; I suppose the nearest would be his Rasputin in Hellboy, but he didn’t remotely own the action the way he does here. The fact that he’s the only big name in the cast is part of it, sure, but he really does command the screen; it’s a mad scientist performance for the ages.
This is a movie with plenty to say about war and the general lunacy that informs it, and a hell of a lot of it should ring true – but even so, make no mistake, this movie is a hell of a lot of fun, especially if you’re an lover of old school practical FX. The monstruous supersoldier creations, equal parts steampunk/Tokyo Gore Police, are so wonderfully weird, yet undeniably intimidating once in action: even though the film as a whole is not played for laughs, that timeless mix of fear and laughs is sure to come billowing from your belly. It’s a classic feeling, coming from a movie which feels like it could be a minor classic. Not sure it’s enough to make me fully trust found footage again, but still…
Frankenstein’s Army has its UK premiere at this weekend’s Film4 FrightFest. It comes to Region 2 DVD on 30th September, from Momentum Pictures.