Director – Richard Griffin (The Disco Exorcist, Atomic Brain Invasion, Murder University)
Starring – Michael Thurber (Murder University), Ryan Hanley (Murder University), and Shannon Hartman (Celeste and Jesse Forever)
Release Date – 2013
Rating – 4/5
Tagline – “The Ultimate Experiment in Terror is About to Begin”
Around a month or so ago I came across the Facebook page for Dr. Frankenstein’s Wax Museum of the Hungry Dead. Right away I was impressed with the poster and artwork for the film. I quickly rushed to Youtube to see the trailer and from that point forward I had to see the film.
I sent the page a message and discovered that the director of the film, Richard Griffin, is the director behind the sci-fi horror film Atomic Brain Invasion. Unfornately, the movie was not quite finished so I had to wait a little longer until Griffin was able to send me a copy which I received the day before I had a day scheduled off from my day job. So thank you Richard for sending me the copy to review.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a group of youths as they break into a wax museum for various reasons (sex, party, and more sex). However, this is not your typical wax museum. This museum is dedicated to the macabre in more than one way.
The figures are horror icons on film crafted by the eye patch wearing Dr. Frank. Dr. Frank was kicked out of the Nazi party by Hitler for his inhuman practices. Dr. Frank, or his original name Dr. Frankenstein, has been reanimating corpses in an attempt to reanimate a corpse with a conscience. Instead, the corpses he reanimates only have one thing on their mind and that is to feast on the flesh of the living.
The teens are then systematically picked off by the undead and Dr. Frankenstein. However, the tables turn when Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster that does have the ability to reason and turns on his creator.**Spoiler Alert**
After watching Atomic Brain Invasion I had pretty high expectations for the next film I saw from Griffin. I loved how Griffin takes the camp and cheese from certain genre pieces to craft a fun film. Just a few moments in to this one I knew Griffin would not let me down. The acting is not what I would call top notch but that only adds to the charm that Griffin is going for.
The story is nothing amazing but it is a clever take on the Frankenstein mythos. The story was easily molded to fit the location in which the film was set which only added some great atmosphere to the film to get that cheesy European horror film feel. Finally, the film has some great special effects and on screen kills. Griffin could easily take the gorehound route and make a seriously bloody film that could easily satisfy those with a bloodlust. Instead, Griffin takes those great special effects and on screen kills to only improve the campy and cheesy film.
The only downside I had with the film was the audio. I don’t know how Griffin dubs the audio in his movie but at times the tone of the audio does not fit the facial features of the actors. It almost made the entire cast seem monotone. Overall, this is a heartwarming love letter to campy and cheesy films from the past. If you love cheese on your horror then you will love this one. I highly recommend it.
