Review: Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2015
Images from the Internet

Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead

Produced, directed and edited by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Films Releasing/ Wild Eye Releasing
85 minutes / 2013 / 2015
www.wildeyereleasing.com
www.mvdvisual.com

When I was watching Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead (that’s actually the DVD release name, with the original being the more colorful and painfully accurate Frankenstein’s Wax Museum of the Hungry Dead), I had a nagging thought bouncing around in my mind throughout the whole thing. It’s kind of Hammer Films-like, but it’s broader than that. Just couldn’t put my finger on it. Then as I watched the credits at the end, it’s almost like the director, Richard Griffin, was prescient and he answered my query. He thanks Jess Franco, and that was the lightbulb moment. Then I watched the film again.

In some ways, Jesse Franco (d. 2013) was the Ed Wood Jr. (d. 1978) of modern Euro-sleaze cinema (and long titles), like The Women of Cell Block 9 (1978) and Mari-Cookie and the Killer Tarantula (1998). Many of Jess’s films had Nazi elements (as villains), lots of gore, cheesy dialog, and beautiful women who screamed a lot. On many levels this film, in trying to capture his zeitgeist, the pupil exceeds the teacher.

In The Breakfast Club (1985) fashion, a group of miscreants in a Salem, Massachusetts high school – all of them attractive – are brought by their teacher to a horror-themed wax museum, the real Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery (HERE); the correct sign is seen out front, but in the back a computer printed sign says [Peter] “Cushing Wax Museum” (no big whoop, especially since I was a card-carrying member of the British-based Peter Cushing fan club in early 1970s).

Okay, since I’ve already started, I’m going to do my ridiculous nit picking first, though I usually do this at the end, because (a) I think it’s funny, and (b) I like to show off. The big anachronism here is when the film takes place. For example, a student goes missing and the date listed on the “missing” flyer is 1979. However, the posters on another student’s wall (probably from the Griffin’s youth) is of Thompson Twins and Duran Duran. While both this bands were formed before 1979, at least the latter band didn’t have any hits until 1981. And lastly, in the wax museum, some of the figures include the clown Pennywise and Darkman, both from films released in 1990. Man, I love indie cinema (not sarcasm).

A

Shannon Hartman and Johnny Sederquist

nyway, our group sneaks back into said museum so at least some of them can have sex: the straight couple in a casket, no less, and the gay couple in a threesome with a wax figure. And, of course, all the rest of the group are there for – er – moral support? This turns out to be a bad thing because the person running the museum is Charles Frank (a wonderfully crazed Michael Thurber), who has shortened his last name of course, and copying his great-great-grandfather’s experiments. Thurber kind of looks like the progeny of Chris Lee and Peter Cushing (as if that was possible, and again, a compliment), and being the incredible stage and screen actor that he is, he knows how to play maniacal well.

Like every version of the Frankenstein bloodline, there are previous failed experiments running amok, here in kind-of zombie mode in that they stumble around and eat people, but they don’t have the virus that turns their victims into flesh-eaters themselves. When they eat, they kill, and at least two deaths here are similar to a particular slaughter in Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985).

The body count is high, and the characters, both female and male, are attractive albeit leaning towards snarky and/or not overly smart, but that’s okay, because everyone is really funny. Of course, it helps with the screenplay co-written by Griffin and Seth Chitwood. According to the commentary track, some of the gags they came up with were at the last minute, including the hysterical coda (which indirectly indicated that there might be a sequel?).

One of the interesting aspects about seeing a director’s film out of context, i.e., not in the order they were released, is that you often get to see early parts after seeing that same actor(s) in leading roles. And since Griffin has been blessed with a wonderful and ever growing troupe, the viewer can see the same ones at their various stages (so far).

There are two female de facto leads in this: first, there’s Ashley, played by the diminutive yet nevertheless powerful Shannon Hartman as the beautiful bitch girl, and yet to me seems to use that tone to manage to stay alive (or not, not giving it away). Highly emotional, it’s very different than the still and seething character she would play in Normal (2013). Like the Rachel McAdams character in Mean Girls (2004), she manages to be really offensive, and remain hot. And here, she sorta wears a Freddy Kruger sweater (not exact, but close).

Jamie Lyn Bagley

The other female lead is Katherine (Jamie Lyn Bagley), the frumpy-yet-cute outsider girl who is smarter than most of the others, and has really bad hair and choice of clothing that accentuates what you don’t want highlighted. I’m looking forward to more leading roles with her in the future (Richard, hint-hint). Being that diamond-in-the-rough role in this type of film, it’s the fear that turns into anger that will help her (or not). Or, by the end, is she as insane as everyone else?

The titular role, as I said, is a be-wigged and eye-patched Michael Thurber, Griffin’s genie in a bottle (or soundstage, anyway). As I’ve said in previous reviews, Thurber really does know how to play the straight (i.e., non-comedic) role, as he did in the superb Exhumed (2011), the completely over the top insanity of Future Justice (2014), and the Euro-trash nutsoid-naziod that was common in the 1970s, and especially in the video boom of the ‘80s. Like most of the actors here, he is stage trained, and knows how to play to a role, and sometimes, as in here, lets the role play him to some extent.

The second male lead in his first full length feature is Johnny Sederquist, who plays the very openly gay Sam. It’s humorous that he has a nice love scene with Aaron Peaslee (as Troy), who he would also share a tongue with in The Sins of Dracula (2014). It is interesting to compare Sederquist’s role here with his later lead actor in Accidental Incest (2014). Here he’s emotional, but by AI, he will make a leap from being a character to becoming that character. Good actor here, he definitely has grown. It’s all good, and he is extremely funny here; you can see his good sense of timing and emotional manipulation of the character and the strength to sacrifice… okay, others… to survive (or not).

The heart of the film, Michael Thurber

As with most of Griffin’s films, there is a large cast, some part of the main group, and some more in the periphery. For example, the “lead” zombie is played by Nathaniel Sylva, who would go on to play the main character in Future Justice, as he does stoic so well (compliment). Jesse Dufault plays a punk rocker musician (in some ways similar to NuWave he’d personify in The Sins of Dracula. He wisely plays convincingly with his eyes, one of his strong features, as he’s also a bit of a loveable comedic teddy bear, which also works for him. His real-life brother, Jamie Dufault, who often plays leads in Griffin films such as Murder University (2012), has a cameo role here as a zombie, and I found it amusing that he almost bites Jesse (I’m sure that was intentional, and good on you). One of the better and funniest bits has do to with a David Byrn…I mean a talking head named Fritz (hilariously dis-embodied by Sean Carufel), a definite – er  – nod to the B-film classic The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962).

If you’ve never seen a Jess (nee Jesus) Franco film, this could be a good way to start before delving in, because as purposefully goofy as this is, it’s nowhere near as insane and sometimes unwatchable as some Franco films. Griffin has taken the best elements and motifs that make Franco’s films so interesting, and put his own twist on it to make it a fun joyride through someone else’s backyard mess.

The extra is a commentary track that has way too many people in it, including most of the primary cast and the director, but Griffin actually manages to keep it in check most of the time so it doesn’t become a “I’m talking over everyone else to express my ego” fest. Despite the occasional overmodulation due to everyone laughing at once, it is surprisingly coherent.

I’m not one who usually finds “Easter Eggs” on DVDs, but if you click on Thurber’s eyepatch in the Special Features window, you can hear a web-interview with the director on Nerdgasm where he talks about a lot of his career and gives some perspective of how he learned what he knows. For example, I found out we both share a love of Bug Bunny cartoon, and how his comedies are filmed versions of those ‘toons in some elements. ‘Nuff said.