Kyofu densetsu: Kaiki! Furankenshutain (1981)
*** (out of 4)
This animated Japanese movie is another take on the Frankenstein legend as the doctor thinks it's a good idea to play God and he soon regrets that decision.
This film is also known as MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN and FRANKENSTEIN OF TERROR but no matter what you call it I thought the film was pretty good. I'm not going to call this thing a masterpiece as there are countless issues with it but if you're a fan of the monster then this is certainly worth watching.
The version I watched was the dubbed English one but what was most impressive was the visuals. I really loved the animation and especially some of the creative uses of light and its effect on the monster. The monster appears to look like ash early on and I really loved the scenes where lightening would strike and have the monster glow in a green tint. The entire look of the film is quite excellent as it perfectly captures a Victorian era but also a Gothic horror film.
The vocal work in this dubbed version was quite good and I'd argue that the story told is pretty effective. This here goes for a more "father-son" approach to the doctor and the monster. I thought the film also benefited from showing the horrors of the doctor having to live with what he has created. I was really surprised by this one but it's worth watching.