Andy Warhol's
Flesh For Frankenstein
1973
Compagnia Cinematografica Champion / Braunsberg Productions / Carlo Ponti Cinematografica / Rassam Productions / Yanne Et Rassam
Bryanston Distributing / EMI Distribution / Image Entertainment / Tartan Video Limited
6.25 / 10
Oh, my God! This movie is magnificent in its badness. A true masterpiece of awfulness. This is the epitome and the complete definition of a bad movie. This is the type of movie you can enjoy even though it's far from perfect.
For example, there's a scene where Udo Kier, Baron Frankenstein, is telling his servant Otto, played by starey-eyed Arno Juerging (does he even blink(?)) about his days as an assistant, "I had to clean out all the toilets before I could stick my nose into the laboratory!" Except, due to Kier's accent, "laboratory" sounds live "lavatory". Brilliant.
Another positive is that this is a cross between the old lavish Hammer Horror movies and the visceral Italian gorefest and it works really well. There is not one scene where you cannot see everything, though there are times you wish you weren't seeing it. Especially when the Baron likes playing with the female Zombies innards too much and poor Otto has to keep wiping his brow. Even though you think this is wrong it only gets worse.
Even when you think the only one who is remotely sane is the Baron's wife, brilliantly portrayed by Monique Van Vooren, even she tips her toes into the darker side of sexual kinkiness. I can fully understand why this one got the BANNED stamp, though they are done so gloriously you see it as funny or erotic.
The story is a pretty decent one though. The Baron is looking to reincarnate humans into Zombies and with the sole purpose of procreating and building a super-race of Serbians. Through his strict guidelines, he procures his body parts for looks and sexual prowess. These Zombies will give him the perfect children he always wanted and he will have control over them all. This allows the writer to create some good individual characters, though writing, acting, and direction aren't perfect because each personality is different it helps to keep the viewer watching the screen. I especially loved the male Zombies attitude and logic at the end of the story.
The special effects are up to the usual Italian standards. Even though the decapitation isn't too realistic, you have to give the FX crew big respect because the eyes blink and move, which they will do because a head can remain conscious for a minute after being removed. There are lots of guts and oodles of bright red blood (much too bright to be real).
All of this mixed in with some nudity and you have a marvellous exploitation movie.
This is a MUST WATCH for all who love bad b-movie horror flicks. I cannot believe it's taken me so long to find this one, though now I have I will be watching it again and again with a smile on my face and a chortle in my throat. Good on ya' Mister Warhol...
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