Let's be realistic.

A Major Disappointment

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Inspired by true events, an army of inter-dimensional Frankensteins, Alan Jones (Jordan Farris), a little boy named Igor (Christian Bellgardt) and not Bruce Campbell are transported back in time to the Civil War where they fight for the Union army against a Frankenstein created by the south. Solomon Jones loses his arm and has a plasma cannon sewn to it, because a chainsaw has already been done.The film follows much of "The Army of Darkness" formula. It is campy and designed to be a cult film. Jordan Farris is not Bruce Campbell and this production falls a little short of the classical cult status, but will certainly give you the necessary cult fix until the next great one comes along. The film utilizes a catchy opening soundtrack. The present time era of the girlfriend in the supermarket wasn't written well.Guide: 1 loud F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

Army of Frankensteins is a nice B horror film, shot in Oklahoma and recently released on DVD. Running time is 108 minutes, MAYBE a bit long but not really, as most films today, I've noticed, approach the two hour mark in length.If you are a fan of Back to The Future, Night of the Living Dead, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, or maybe even another B offering from a few years ago, Bonnie and Clyde vs. Dracula, I am reasonably certain you will like this one. The story line is simple and far-fetched enough to be great fun: a young man and an even younger boy are thrown back into time 150 years, right into the thick of the American Civil War. To stretch credibility even further, an "army" of Frankenstein clones are produced to combat the "bad" monsters, all created by a greenish serum brought from the future. The goals of our heroes are to 1. Assist in helping the North win the Civil War 2. Make it safely home to the 21st century, and 3. Meet their ancestors. Do not assume any of this is necessarily in that order.You do not a need a detailed critique of this film for several reasons, the main one being, this is a low budget B film and should be judged as such. It is grossly unfair to compare such a film to higher budget, Hollywood productions and I hate to see that when it happens, which is, sadly, pretty often. Also, I do not wish for you to know too much more about plot and story. As they say in show business, "Leave 'em wanting more," and so I shall. Instead, I offer comments and my impressions of what is a fun film to watch.The young boy who played Igor, Christian Bellgardt, stole the show. I am certain his father, writer/director Ryan Bellgardt, did not plan for that, but what a nice surprise for both of them. Young Bellgardt has a future in acting, and I hope he stays interested enough to pursue it.Oklahoma horror legend John "Count Gregore" Ferguson has a fairly small but important role as the mad scientist, Dr. Tanner Finski. Many years ago, Mr. Ferguson's career path took a turn towards Oklahoma, and here we see what might have been . . . if. John Ferguson could easily have been John Carradine, and it was good to him in a substantial screen role, one he handled very well.The special effects were pretty good. I liked the occasional use of filtered lens for a rose tint look in spots, and Solomon's (portrayed by Rett Terrell) arm cannon was very enjoyable. The story was meaningful and poignant at times, campy and fun at other times. The beard on the villainous Confederate officer resembles a large piece of steel wool and the scene where the soldier caught a cannonball and threw it back the other way reminded me of an old Republic serial I viewed many years ago. Dialogue was embellished and over the top in a fun way in places, but the underlying theme of the entire story was the young boy Igor's loss of innocence for many reasons not of his own doing.The story creators toyed around with what I will call, for lack of a better term, a combination alternate/revisionist history of facts pertaining to that era. You will have to view the film to see what I mean. All in all, they stayed true to history, within context of a fiction story.I am hoping Mr. Bellgardt will add a director's commentary audio to future releases of the DVD.You may learn more about this film on Facebook. Look for the Army of Frankensteins page.

The film begins in Virginia, 1864. A squad of Confederate soldiers is on a routine patrol when one of them breaks rank to rendezvous with his lover. Sadly, just as the soldier is about to commence his own Bull Run, the lovers are set upon by an army, not the Union Army, but an Army of Frankensteins!As is so often the case, an ego-maniacal mad scientist is at the heart of our troubles, in an attempt to reanimate the Monster's corpse, the crazy Dr. Finski accidentally tears open a hole in the space/time continuum, pouring a multiverse worth of Frankensteins into the middle of the American Civil War. Correcting this little glitch in Time constitutes Our Heroes' Quest. I hate to give away too much in a review so I'll just give you a few highlights. This movie has a lot of good stuff in it, including nods to some of the classic Frankenstein films, (as well as Phil Hartman's version) some effective and often funny gross out effects, a plasma coil cannon, a Counter-Frankenstein, discussions on everything from time travel to the nature of true love, Igor played as a wise- cracking yet highly competent 12 year old boy, and Frankenstein's attempt to thwart Lincoln's assassination at Ford Theater.Not only is an entertaining film with a good sense of fun, but it seems it was also made by a small group of independent artists and therefore could use your financial support. So spend your money on a product that is not only a good time, but that will help these folks turn out more quality entertainment.

My quick rating - 5,7/10. Very ambitious and fun filled horror comedy. The writers/creators wanted to hit all genres in full swing and did a fantastic job on a shoe string budget. Good humor, nice gore when needed, hokey action on purpose, this is b-budget quality that should be seen. Enjoyable and I will be keeping this one for later viewing. I make my picks on people to watch, and very rarely am I wrong (last one was the Soska Twins) so keep an eye on Ryan Bellgardht. Aside from some serious camera issues (more the effects really) the quality is quite good. Got distracted at times by the multiple Frankensteins being all hazy, but minor gripe. Enjoy if you can find it.