Movielogr
The Last Frankenstein (1991)
Directed by Takeshi Kawamura
Twitter Facebook Google+Horror | Drama | Science Fiction
Overview
Professor Sarusawa and his psychic daughter Mai live together after the suicide of the Professor’s wife years earlier - which was caused by a suicide plague running rampant throughout the city. Dr. Aryo lives in a nearby castle with his wife, whom Dr. Aryo created, and a hunchbacked assistant. Dr. Aryo once worked at the same university with Professor Sarusawa but was fired for his morbid experiments. Now, Dr. Aryo may hold the key to unlocking the origins & cure for the suicide virus which Professor Sarusawa may now have. Meanwhile Professor Sarusawa’s daughter Mai can be bring to life Dr. Aryo’s stitched up cadavers which Dr. Aryo hopes to create a new race with.
Length 120 minutes
Actors
Akira Emoto | Yoshio Harada | Juro Kara | Kazuhiko Goda
Viewing History (seen 2 times)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/17/2020 | TV | Broadcast | Other | 6 stars |
| 10/16/2018 | Computer | Broadcast | Other | 0 stars |
| (Average) 3 stars |
Viewing Notes
Was glad to see this on the DKUTV 5th anniversary marathon schedule. Caught it a couple years ago and watched via my laptop but didn’t take any notes and couldn’t remember anything about it other than it starred Akira Emoto. The first act didn’t ring a bell for me and seemed like I was viewing for the first time. When it moves into the second act w/the Doctor Aryo it all came back to me. This is a wild and provocative flick where this doctor (the Dr. Frankenstein of the film) is trying to get his new creations, a woman and a man, to experience romance and sex.
All the while there is a “suicide virus” that is infecting the population of Japan. There’s a lot to unpack here as this premise collides with the concept of bringing back the dead. Overall, this is a rather sedate film with plenty of strange imagery and ideas. I suspect this film influenced the next wave of modern extreme horror and J-horror filmmakers like Sion Sono, Yoshihiro Nishimura, and Noboru Iguchi, among others. I can see direct connections to THE SUICIDE CLUB and TOKYO GORE POLICE and a few other movies. And altho Miike was already making movies at this time I’m sure he saw a few things he liked and borrowed as he leaned into horror.
Sadly this transfer and audio isn’t great. I’m sure it’s the best available if Josef’s using it for his marathons but man this movie could use a restored release. Plenty to discuss with this one. I need to update TMDb with a dozen or so primary actors that are missing.
No comments yet. Log in and be the first!